CLIM: Volume 2
by JohnnyCQC
Summary: Cloud and the Smash team are back for another semester. Now knowing darker things are at hand. The crew have more to worry about than the Grimm themselves. Join Team CLIM and SSRC as they change the course of Remant's fate by unraveling the plans of the White Fang, crash a club, and attend a school dance party! Tensions will rise, and members will confess. Welcome back readers!
1. A welcoming Party

*Vrrrrrrrrrt!*...*Vrrrrrrrrrrrt!*

A familiar victory fanfare sounds off, signalling a sleeping beauty to wake from his slumber. Many toss and turns later, the grump barely opens his eyes For what felt like a decade, the sleeping giant gets up and grabs the obnoxious IPhone. He slides the ringer off, and the screen displayed a variety of notification.

With his eyes glued to the screen, he scans over each and every one to see if any were of any importance. With a flick of the thumb, he quickly brushes off the notifications one by one, until he saw a flurry of messages that had stockpiled on top of one another. He scratched his eyes to get rid of the gold dust that had gathered overnight and proceeded to read the following messages.

Jaune: "Hey bro! Hope you're enjoying the summer vacation! Tell Link that I, the great Jaune Arc, have not slacked this whole summer! ….Okay maybe a little if you count all the salt and vinegar chips I ate. But I've still been working out. Gotta keep my guns in shape! Anyways, can't wait to see you guys again!"

The reader rolled his eyes and laughed a little on the inside. He swipes the goofy face off and the next message pops up.

Ren:" If you guys don't mind, please bring lots of pancake batter. Nora lost control of herself when I put her on rehab, and she tried to cook for herself. I walked into the kitchen and found her covered in smoke. Short story, she set the kitchen on fire. Please come back soon."

Now awake, he gave a smirk and shook his head. He opened the Note app and typed in 'pancake mix' with a :(. He opens the messenger app again and this time, an energetic face appeared on screen.

Nora: "Ohhhhhhhhh Lover boy! I know you've been giving everyone great love advice and all, buuuuuuuut, you forgot all about the most important person who needs it most! Me! I mean, not for me, me, if that makes any sense. Look, I need you to pass on your knowledge so I can help a secret admirer! You'll be doing both of us a solid! Killing two birds with one stone! Oh, and when you come back, don't tell anyone. ESPECIALLY REN!"

The reader cocked his head and scratched his head in confusion. "Love boy?" He thought, "I can barely give myself advice on life."

He swipes away the ginger and what came next was a beautiful and gentle soul.

Pyrrha: "Hello again! Has the summer treated you well? Ours have certainly been an eventful one. Even without your team and Shulk's, the group is lively as ever. I think you'd be proud of Jaune. Did you know he looks up to you? I have to thank you and Link again for bringing out the confidence in our fearless leader. By the way, if you don't mind me asking, do you think you could give Jaune more dating advice? You know, set him on the right path! P.S. I hope the dress advice works."

Bad thoughts flooded his head. The memories of a time he vowed to never do again. He shook them off. He put the phone away and decided to get ready for the big day ahead of him. The room was filled with boxes that were packed the day before that were addressed to ship to the Smash Academy. Take the boxes away and all that is left is a clean plain room. A bed in the middle, a dresser on the right side, a closet on the opposite end, and a bathroom on the lower right corner.

As he was cleaning up in the bathroom and getting dressed, siri notified the user of voice text, and asked if he would like her to play them. "Yes", the voiced echoed.  
"Now playing: Weiss Schnee"

"Seriously, get here quickly, and by quickly I mean now! She won't stop talking about when you're coming back, or how you guys are taking sooooo long to get here. It's going to drive me crazy! Oh and by the way, make sure Link does not have my scent. I don't need some dog stalking me when school starts. P.S. Does Marth know how to use his phone?"

Now that he thought about it, Marth never did use his phone during the mission. Actually, none of his teammates used their phones. Link, Marth, nor Ike had that kind of technology back in their home world. Now cleaned up, he proceeded to put on a familiar uniform worn in the school of beacon. His black suit lined with gold. Complementing the back suit was a blue vest and a white shirt with a red tie. "Has summer really gone that fast?" He thought.  
"Now playing: Yang Xiaolong"

"YO! I hope the 100 sit ups, push ups, and 10k running has helped Ike this summer; because this time I aim to crush him! No excuses! Oh, to make this a little more interesting we're going to have a little wager. Oh, and just between you and me, we really should play some pranks of my little sis when you get back. If you know what I mean. ;)

"Heh, I'll have to take her up on that," he thought. He grabbed his IPhone and stopped the messages. "I better hurry and get back soon. They're getting pretty impatient." He walked down stairs with a bunch of boxes, all while trying to make sure he didn't fall. He finally left the stairs behind and crossed the kitchen to place the box in front of the living room door. "Phew, maybe I should get some help to speed things up."

"Maybe I can help," said a voice from the kitchen.

The man jumped. "Tifa!? when did you get here!? And is that….Sniff..sniff...Bacon!?"

Tifa hugged her stomach as she laughed Hysterically. "Wow, this is 'The Cloud Strife? Scared of a girl in the kitchen, and getting excited over bacon?"

"Hey, I'll have you know I was an ex-Soldier!" Cloud said proudly as he pointed his thumb towards him.

"Oh god, don't start that with me." She said shaking her head.  
They both laughed at their little morning encounter. Tifa in particular was the happier one. "I'm really proud of you Cloud."

The swordsman gave her a funny look. "What do you mean?"

"You've been smiling, hell you're laughing! Ever since we stopped Sephiroth, you were so depressed. I mean, understandably so. She scooped up the pieces of bacon and placed them on a plate of two sunny side up eggs. She then walked over to the kitchen table and signaled him to come over. "But now look at you. You're looking like the Cloud from my childhood."

Cloud looked at her with an agonized expression on his face. "Yeah, minus the bullying I had to endure."

Tifa rolled her eyes, "Oh can it! I was toughening you up!"

Cloud walked over to the table to devour the goods. Just as he was ready to sit down, his IPhone rings. He dug into his pocket and saw a picture of Luna from Sailor moon and slid his thumb. "Blake?"

"Hey, you guys are coming back soon right?"

His eyes went round. "You guys need to learn patience."

"Sorry, you know I don't normally do this. But before you leave, I really wanted you guys to bring some books."

"You're a reader?"  
"I love books. Link is suppose to come back with something called the Hyrule Historia, and Robin is bringing back a bunch of his Tomes."

Cloud smirked. "You just want to use magic."  
"...Maybe..By the way, you're most likely going to get a barrage of text."

"From?"

"You'll see." *Click*

Confused, he bothered with the phone no more, and scarfed down the delicacy that was Tifa's breakfast.

"Aww, Cloud is making friends." The cook said jokingly.

"Shut up."

"Loser said what?"

"What?"

"HA!"

"Tifa!"

She laughed once more at their banter, only to bring a brooding expression on her face. "I can't believe the summer is over already."

Cloud finished chowing down and looked out the window of the kitchen. What used to be considered the slums now flourished with mother nature and modern architect. No longer being plagued by dusty dirt roads and copper homes. The Smash tournament really paid off, and the mission on Remnant only helped even more. To top it all off, he got paid vacation in the summer. Were it not for him, the slums would still be in a miserable state. He looked at Tifa, trying to reassure her with a smile. "I'll be over before you know it. Besides, you have Ryu!"

Tifa gave him a stern look. "Obviously I have him, he's the best thing to ever happen to me.!" Tifa gained flashbacks of when she first laid eyes on the wandering warrior. His fight with Little Mac that took her to the edge of her seat. After the fight, she asked for his autograph and asked to get together for dinner, needless to say, things went from there. "He may be more important than you."

"Oh gee thanks."

"But you're my childhood friend, and you're going to some wierd far off place. I don't need you dying on me."  
Cloud scoffed at the thought. "As if anything can kill me there."

Tifa crossed her arms. "Don't get cocky now. Remember the girl with the floating swords?"

Cloud gulped. "Oh right."

The blonde got a flurry of vibrations and the sound of Chocobos ringing from his phone.

"Could be the flurry of text that person was talking about." Said a chuckling Tifa.

He unlocked his phone and saw that it was none other than the Little Red Riding Hood herself.  
Ruby: "I'M BORED! There! Now that I got your attention entertain me."  
Cloud thought about sending a usual text. But a figment of his imagination came into play. Separated from the outside world, Kermit the Frog phased into his sights; the green frog was also sporting a black cloak. "Play with her."

Cloud smiled deviously and began typing, all while having bad thoughts.  
Cloud: "Can't with Yang at the moment."

Tifa's eyes widened when she read the text. "Oh you are so dead."

Cloud shrugged. "What?"

His phone went off immediately. Taking less than five seconds for her to reply.

Ruby: ":(((((((( :((((((( :(((((("

Ruby: "WAIT A MINUTE! THAT MEANS YOU'RE HERE!"

Ruby: "OMG! WHERE ARE YOU!?"

Tifa raised an eyebrow. "Cloud, did you get that weird frog?"

Cloud was taken aback. "Wait, how did you-"

"I get him all the time whenever I think about doing bad stuff to you." She said with a wink.

Cloud slumped in his chair. "So you agree with him all the time?"

"Pretty much."

His phone went off once again, this time for ferociously. He picked it up and felt the presence of an awful vibe steaming off his phone.

Ruby: "YANG WON'T OPEN THE DOOR!"

Yang: "Dude, nice! I didn't think you'd do the prank this early! What do we do next?"

Cloud was caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, he could have a little bit more fun to make his trip more interesting when he gets there. However, there is the chance that he is gambling his life and might not make it through the first week of school. "Why the hell not?" He thought.  
Cloud: "Try to keep the charade up for as long as you can. I'll try to make it there as soon as possible."

He slid his phone back into his pocket and got up to get the rest of his things. Tifa got up as well, and looked him straight in the eye. Cloud felt uneasy, and almost walked away. But he knew Tifa, and she wasn't going to let him go that easily. To be perfectly honest, he was just hoping that he wasn't he going to get an earful of scolding and nagging.  
Tifa took breathed in slowly, and sighed. "I know I give you a hard time.

His eyes went round. "That's an understatement."

"Don't fuck up."

The blonde warrior smirked. "Come on now, we're not reenacting our abridged series!"

She smiled. "Just….come back safely. Okay?"

He walked towards the stairs and gestured a thumbs up as he climbed up to get the rest of his stuff.

Morning had passed and Cloud had said his goodbyes to the planet Gaia. Master hand had personally came to escort him via portal. With the snap of his thumb and index finger, the portal ripped through the fabric of reality and ate through enough space to fit the Giant glove and the giant sword wielder. In just a few moments the portal quickly transported our hero from the recovering slums to the extravagant Court yard of the Smash Academy. "Wow, it never ceases to amaze me," he said in awe.

"I've actually made more adjustments to the academy thanks to the income from DLC. I got to put our 1000 acres to good use!" The glove stated proudly.

"You can thank me for most of your DLC income", Said a smug solder.

He continued to admire the campus. 1000 acres of a dominant suburban setting. There were two villages on opposite ends of the campus; the North village and South village. The Union resided in the middle of campus. The Union was a three story building equipped with various restaurants, a coffee shop, convenience store, rec room, multimedia room, and cafe. The rest of the campus also housed a gym, an indoor pool, architect building, Engineering building, and science building.

To the east side of campus is where the famous Smash Stadium lay. Established in 1999 the Smash Stadium is one of the most advanced stadiums in the universe; capable of transforming into various settings and environments. Master hand had made improvements over the last 17 years with each iteration making a huge leap in technical achievement, and stage design.

"Man, I wonder what it could have been like to see it from the beginning," Cloud said as he marveled at its beauty.

The glove fluttered a bit. "Well, if you would have stayed and not betray us, you could have been on team Nintendo."

"Tch, and be compressed to hell with those cartridges? No thank you. CD-ROMS or get out."

Master Hand creeped in closer. "But the Nintendo Switch though."

Cloud paused for a moment, and thought about Final Fantasy XV on the go with the new cartridges. "Well…."

Master hand snapped his fingers imitating the sound of the Switch ad. "We got Skyrim on the go."

"Cartridges or GET OUT!" The SOLDIER yelled.

"Seriously, could you guys get any louder?" Said a familiar voice.

The two turned around to see a woman in blue leading six other party members. All the familiar faces were carrying suitcases, backpacks, and as usual the one guy with a wagon full of luggage. They also sported the beacon academy uniform both male and female alike.

"Well aren't you guys a sight for sore eyes," Cloud said.

Ike ran up to the Blond and put him in a light choke hold. "You damn right! Aren't I a beauty?"

"If anything, you haven't aged well over the summer," Marth scoffed.

Ike glared at blue pretty boy and smacked his teeth. "What proof do you have?"

"When we transitioned from Brawl," Link said with a grin.

Ike let go of Cloud and sulked in his low self-esteem.

"Wait, it's not sulking time! I want to know what you used to look like!" Said Shulk enthusiastically.

Samus pulled out her IPhone the team to see with Cloud peeping in. The screen graced them with a screenshot comparison of the character select screen from both Brawl and Wii U. The primary focus? Ike.

"I'm actually quite baffled Ike," Robin mocked. "Isn't the transition from standard to high definition supposed to make you look better?"

Ike stomped as hard as he could. "I'll have you know, the devs gave me some pretty big guns. I'd say I've aged with grace."

Corrin burst into laughter. "Not even a DLC skin will save you!"

Ike crouched down and drew little circles to ease the pain. However the little rain cloud that hangs over his head reminded him that he just got burned. "I'm glad to see you guys again too."

"Now's not the time to sulk!" Master Hand said with a peace pose. "The world of Remnant is in need of peace making and Ozpin was impressed with your work! It's show time!"

Shulk raised his hand catching the Glove's attention. "Excuse me, but can we get more Shulk time?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I barely got any screen time on the last volume. Samus is a side character and she got more action than the rest of team SSRC."

"I think everyone gets more action than you," Samus mocked.

"I'm afraid I don't have an ice Tome for a burn heal," Robin stated.

Master Hand gave a thumbs up. "Listen, I have no control over this. You're going to need to have a conversation with the creator and readers."

Shulk crossed his arms and frowned. "I haven't even been paired yet."

Master hand snapped his fingers and ripped open the portal to Remnant. This time Corrin raised her hand. "Soooo...we are going straight to the school...right?"

"But of course! Where else would I take you?"

"In front of a Dust robbery," Cloud stated.

"...Right on."

Corrin looked at the portal with a brooding look. "I don't want to throw up my lunch again."

"I assure you, I've worked out the kinks! Trust me!" He exclaimed with another thumbs up.

Cloud gave the signal for everyone to move in. "Come on guys. Best not to keep our friends waiting."

The party phased through effortlessly and just like that, the portal closed in silence. The passageway of the portal was unlike what it was last time. The work that Master Hand put in was night and day. He overhauled the empty void of the portal and instead opted for a more aesthetically pleasing scenery. Instead of free falling, they walked on a brick road surrounded by water and a coliseum like building. The environment triggered a memory in Cloud with vivid throwbacks to the All-Star Colosseum. What awaited them was a light at the end of the road; one by one they each pass through crossing their fingers and hoping the exit is just as smooth as the entrance.

The Heroes were greeted with a large formal dining room running down the length of a cloister-like hall. The dining sported long tables running the length of the hall with benches on both sides and walking areas in between. The gothic like appearance reminded them that this was still a battle school. This was made more apparent with the academy's crossed-ax logo.

The nostalgic feeling didn't last long for Cloud due to an immediate feedback from the sudden realization that they had just traveled through a portal in front of many students. Or so he thought. Nostalgia was completely lost when he saw food being thrown from all directions. "What the hell is going on!?" He surveyed the area and realized his crew was not with him. "Great, just great. Master Hand this is the second time!" The atmosphere grew as Cloud heard a maniacally evil laugh in the distance. Cloud turned to see that Team JNPR had claimed one half of the cafeteria. Tables and vending machines were stacked in a ramshackle manner, and the evil laughter came from none other than Nora.

"Ahahahaha!" I see you've finally arrived Cloud Strife!"

"Uhh…"

"I don't know how you got here-"

"I can explain!"

"Nevermind that! You were probably going to tell me you got here with some portal."

"Caught red handed." Cloud's body got heavier knowing Master Hand would not be pleased to have others know of other worldly interference. "See about that.."

"But you can't fool me! I know you've been hiding under the tables all this time with the rest of your hardy crew!" The evildoer pointed towards to the far left corner of the cafeteria. Alas, the rest of CLIM was safe and sound. For the time being anyways.  
Link waved towards Cloud and let out a frightening expression. "Cloud if you could make haste, that would be most swell!"

"Cloud!?" Yelled a cute voice.

Ruby stomped her foot on the table and pointed towards the lost mercenary. "Citizen! If you want to stay safe, I suggest joining the winning team known as teeeaaaam RWBY!"

"Yeah!" All of team RWBY yelled in unison with their fist raised.

"Is this a test?" Cloud asked.

"You better believe it is! Ruby exclaimed. "It's a test of strength, endurance, loyalty, and BRAGGING RIGHTS!"

"Where is team SSRC?"

"You mean those evil outsiders over there!?" She yelled as she pointed to the other end.

The Team was combat ready as they had already settled into their makeshift fort. Shulk had just finished building a soda turret out of the various vending machines lying around. He cocked the gun and let out a smirk. "Now it's Shulk time!"

Cloud's eyes widened. "Oh cra-"

*Ratatatatatatatatatatatata

Cloud made a mad dash towards his team and vaulted over various rubble. Link grabs a frying pan and uses it as a shield to deflect the oncoming soda barrage. Ike counters the barrage with a giant cucumber that had no reason for being so big.

On the opposition Robin used Arc Fire to set ablaze some steaks with Corrin using her wings to fling them in the air. Samus leaped and kicked the steaks towards her foes on team RWBY.

Both Marth and Weiss grabbed a swordfish and stab away at the blazin steaks. By the time they were done, they made themselves a nice kebab. Instead of eating them like normal people, the duo swung them back at the enemy. Samus raised her leg and smacks down a table to use it as cover.

In the Midst of all the chaos, Link decided to pull out a trump card that was forbidden in the land of Hyrule. The Hero of time pull out a Cucco and threw it onto the battlefield. The Cucco feared for its life, finally free from captivity; only to be thrown into more and soda cans were slammed onto our feathered beast one by one. The sheer force of meat, grease, aluminum and flavors were overwhelming. Almost all hope was lost for the beaten Cucco. But within this battered Cucco lied an unmeasurable anger, and lust for revenge. It opened its bloodshot eyes, spread its wings, and summoned a barrage of Cuccos. Hundreds of its feathered friends and family rained from above; pecking and clawing all four teams.

The Majority went over to teams JNPR and SSRC with Jaune flailing around helplessly. "I thought we fried all the chickens!" Yelling that only angered the Cuccos more, and increased the force of their barrage on the teams. The sheer number of Cuccos was too much for Ren's StormFlower.

"We can't keep this up!" Ren yelled.

Try as she might, Pyrrha's semblance was useless against the angry birds. She turned towards the other team and called out to them. "If you guys have a trump card, now would be splendid!"

"I've had enough of this!" Corrin drove her drill arm into the ground, creating a large energy field which transported all the Cuccos in the air. She got on all fours and began to transform into her dragon state. Her school uniform molded into armor, her back sprouted wings and she grew long sharp claws along with a tail. She launches a whirl of water into the Cuccos and washes them all away.

With less stuff flying around, Samus took the opportunity to grab both a milk and juice box to use as makeshift liquid pistols. She danced elegantly as she violently squeezed the boxes releasing the contents at astonishing speeds. At the rate the liquids were traveling; the impact would be similar to that of a rubber bullet.

"Crap!" Cloud looked to the side and picked up two giant pair of ribs. Before he could react, Ruby appeared in front of him and swiped away at the liquids effortlessly.

She turned and winked at our hero. "I had to bail you out sooner or later!"

Cloud smirked, "Right on. Let's get this show on the road!" Both Cloud and Ruby charged towards the enemy with Samus continuing to shoot varying flavors. The Mercenary and Huntress slashed not one, two, three, or four, but five different strokes together to perform a duo Cross Slash!

With Samus busy fighting Cloud and Ruby, Robin prepared a basket of eggs with Nosferatu. The black purple mist that surrounded the eggs sucked every inch of life and severely left them rotten. Robin made the eggs levitate and transported them over to Corrin who had her arm fang ready. With the eggs loaded up, Corrin Spewed out the little devils in a spread shot fashion.

Cloud's eyes filled with fear while Ruby taking aim in hopes of not having those stinkers make impact on them. Cloud looked saw Link running towards him with a basket full of tomatoes and a light bulb appeared above Cloud's head.

"Link!" Cloud yelled with Link nodding and leaping above Cloud. The Mercenary stuck out his giant rib for Link to land on and Twirled violently to perform a Finishing Touch! Link soared through the sky and released his makeshift tomato bombs! The cafeteria was hosting a war between gas and acid as they battled for superiority.

The battle was reaching its climax, both teams have exhausted most of their energy. The cafeteria had turned into an unbelievable mess. The teams however, were not going down without a victory. Ike grabbed Yang by the waist and charged his breadstick to prepare Quick Draw.

"You ready my lady?"

Yang taken aback by the bold brash nature. Men wouldn't dare touch her without her touching them first. The blush that rushed to her cheeks burned brightly and only showed signs of getting deeper. All she could do was let out her game face. "And what are we getting ready to do?"

Ike let out a cocky smirk. "To kick some ass!" Ike unleashed the energy he charged and dashed to the opposite end of the cafeteria. Yang drove her fist into two turkeys to use as makeshift boxing gloves, and Nora stabbed a Watermelon with a metal pole to and charged towards the duo. Shulk charged in along with the fearless leader and grabbed his own breadstick to match Ike's. Ike swung with all his might with his breadstick slamming onto Shulk's. With Ike still holding onto Yang she used the momentum of Ike and got a running to put all her power into one punch with Nora barley blocking the yellow maiden's punch.

"You know, I'm not sure what to be more impressed by. Our fighting, or the durability of the food." Ike said jokingly.

"Actually, Whoever is in charge of the food at Beacon is awesome! I mean, baguettes, celery, turkey, swordfishes and pies too!" Said a struggling Shulk.

The four were at a complete standstill with neither moving an inch. Shulk let out a smirk and grabbed his Monado from behind his back.

"What the-" Ike blurted

"Heh, sorry, gotta cheat just this once!" Shulk activated his Monado arts and switched over to smash.

And just like that, a surge of power filled the bodies of Shulk and Nora. The newfound strength helped the duo bring their weapons back and swing with full force. Try as he might, Ike swooped in front of Yang to take the hit from both. Alas, it was useless. The power of the Monado was too much for him to handle, much less protect Yang. The impact hit him so hard Yang felt the wind behind his back. They both flew towards the sky and broke through the roof. Flying so high it would make Team Rocket envious.

The duo gave each other a high five and let out an evil laughter all while striking a cocky pose. Pissed off, Marth and Weiss looked to each other and nodded.  
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Weiss asked.

"I say we the peasants in their place," Marth replied.

They made a mad dash towards the leaders of the other team and brought their swordfishes together. Shulk and Nora heard the attackers coming but were too late to react once they had open their eyes. The two fishermen performed Dolphin Slash into the shape of an X. The sharp pain of the majestic swordfish had knocked out Shulk and Nora cold.

Marth and Weiss twirled their swordfish and had their back against each other.

"Perfect execution Ms. Schnee," Marth said.

"It helps having someone as perfect as me." She replied.

"That attitude will be your downfall. But just this once I'll let it slide because I agree with that statement." He said with a wink.

As they were busy with their banter, Robin had been charging his Thunder Tome the entire time. Charged all the way, he unleashed it all into a single beam of lightning.

"THORON!"

The electricity ran through their body like prickling needles. Their bodies vibrated so violently, they could no longer stand on their two feet. Robin put so much MP into Thoron it practically left their bodies covered in black.

"We're down four to six." Ruby stated.

"Do we count Jaune?" Cloud asked.

"Yes," replied Link. "We mustn't underestimate him."  
"Just so you know, he cheated on his diet...sooo down four to five?" Blake said sheepishly.

Cloud brought his bread in front of him and started charging. "Limits are meant to be broken!"

Link knew he was getting out one of his trump cards and turned to Blake. "I need you to wear these hover boots!"

Blake looked puzzled as he handed her the winged boots."

"Trust me! Holding hands isn't going to be enough with what he's whipping up!"

"I'd rather much hold hands."

"Blake I need you."

"Link, you haven't been reading Ninja's in Love have you?"

"Goddesses! No! That material is filth!"

"What are you going to do?" She asked as she was putting them on.

Link's body was surrounded by a colorful aura, reminiscent of when one breaks a Smash Ball. "Finishing the fight!"

Cloud was fully charged and he raised his bread high. "Ruby, when I unleash this, I need you to use your semblance to carry them in there and rev it up."

"What exactly am I revving up?"

"Finishing Touch!" Cloud brought his bread back and swung it full force releasing a voracious twister.

Ruby zoomed towards the tied duo and carried them inside the twister. All of Team JNPR and SSRC were sucked into the vortex helplessly as the debri they've all hanged onto was being sucked in along with them. With the help of the Hover Boots Blake was able to zip around land blows onto the enemy with her green onion sword. Link soared effortlessly with the power of the triforce and furiously swiped away at the enemy. Link and Blake put all their power into one last attack and crossed paths with one another to perform an X slash; dispersing the twister and everything in it!

Bodies of Team JNPR and SSRC were slammed against the walls of the cafeteria, and dropping down like helpless flies. Debri was everywhere and the cafeteria was in no condition to pass a health inspection. Soda was starting to stick and the smell of food was beginning to become overbearing.

Unfortunately for Team CLIM and RWBY, their celebration had to wait due to a woman bursting through the cafeteria doors. The scary lady stormed through the cafeteria and growled. She proceeded to use her telekinesis semblance to restructure the room and throw away the food and soda.

"Cloud Strife." She said

"Oh come on," He thought. "She can't seriously single me out like this."

"I would have expected you and your team to stop the fight. Not meddle in it."

Shulk laughed in the background as he lay in defeat.

"You're not off the hook Mr. Shulk." She scolded.

Shulk gulped.

"Come now, it was just a friendly competition." Robin said as he walked towards Goodwitch.

"You can't seriously use that as an excuse young man."

Robin smiled. "Well, both our teams haven't been here all summer. We just got a little carried away is all."

"I expect some sort of compensation for putting me through the trouble of cleaning up."

Robin bowed down with grace. "If that's the case, then I shall take all the blame."

The rest of the crew were speechless. They were fearing the most cruel kind of punishment, maybe even getting expelled. The fact that he took the bullet for them was something they could not comprehend. Was he mad?

"Now I'm curious, just what are you willing to offer?" She said crossing her arms.

"An offer you can't refuse," he said confidently.

She signed and turned around to see that Ozpin was watching the whole time. She walked towards him to tell the news but he cut her off before she could utter a word.

"Let it go."

She sighed once more. "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world."

"And they will be, but right now they're still children."

Ozpin glanced over Goodwitch to see Ike and Yang had fallen back down with Yang using Ike to soften the landing. The Smashers were laughing and goofing off alongside his students."So why not let them play the part? Ozpin walks away from Glynda. After all, it isn't a role they'll have forever."

Back on over to the younger characters. The crew were catching up from the long separation the Smashers made them endure.

"Seriously, you guys suck at texting!" Nora bursted.

Link pressed his index fingers together. "Ahehe...about that...we don't know how to use them."

"Awwww! Big guy I could've helped you out! Yang said still sitting on the warrior.

"The embarrassment was too much to bear," Ike Muffled.

"Whoa, hold on there! Cloud interrupted. "Everyone except me, Samus, and Shulk."

"Then you of all people really don't have an excuse!" Little Red said as she pressed her fingers onto his chest.

"H-hey! I texted back!"

"Oh yes, he texted back alright! Great job buddy!" Yang replied with a thumbs up.

Cloud put his hands in front of him to get ready for the greatest punch Ruby will have ever thrown. She pulled back, and aimed straight for the gut. Sadly for her, the only thing she gained was a soft "plop" noise.

"Uh..ow?" He said sarcastically.

"Oh shut up."

The friends all laughed despite being exhausted from the most epic food fight of all time.

"Seriously guys, welcome back," said Jaune.


	2. Ghost of the past

"So, do you normally bring your job when traveling to another academy?" Asked Cloud

"Well, I'm not sure how much Ozpin has told you, but it doesn't hurt to play it safe." Replied Ironwood.

A small fleet had arrived earlier, housing hundreds of Atlus students to come participate in the Vytal festival; and soldiers to guard the academy. Large unnerving ships had descended upon a landing pad with Bullheads zipping zipping away in the sky. Atlus Academy, they called it. With a military general named Ironwood as their headmaster. The two finally had their first meeting as they walk down the long concrete path to the school. Ozpin wanted Cloud to familiarize himself with the others who are trying to keep the peace in Remnant. So far, He knew Ozpin, Glynda, and now Ironwood are working behind the scenes.

"I'm pretty sure a school training hunters and huntresses can handle themselves."

"Do you honestly believe children can keep this place safe?"

"But a fleet? Isn't that a bit overkill?"

"Ozpin ask for help from another world and my fleet is 'overkill'?"

"At least he's being discreet."

"I'm just being cautious, you can't seriously be backing up Ozpin on this one."

Cloud held his hand up and shrugged with his eyes closed. "Look, I'm not interested in taking sides. I'm just here to do my job."

They've stopped walking as they've reached the entrance of the academy. The atmosphere grew darker around the two as they gazed straight into each other's eyes.

Ironwood was the first one to break the ice. "Cloud Strife."

Cloud maintained his signature stern look. "What is it?"

"You being an outsider already bothers me. Being a mercenary for hire bothers me even more."

Cloud's eyes narrowed, stunned by the sudden critical attitude of the General.

"How can I be sure you'll actually care enough to protect the academy?" Ironwood turned his back against the ex-SOLDIER. "I mean, yes there's the money. But why bother putting yourself in danger when the time comes? You can just leave and go back home to your planet as if nothing ever happened."

"You just don't get it." Cloud said in a soft but harsh tone.

Ironwood turned around slowly to see the Mercenary with his fist clenched and a dark look. "There isn't a thing here I don't cherish!"

Ironwood was taken aback, and blinked several times. Cloud eyes were blazed with determination; something Ironwood wouldn't expect from an outsider. He regained his composure, and took a deep breath, and sighed.  
"I just hope you can keep the death count to a minimum." Ironwood walked away fast enough for Cloud to grab his head without him noticing. Memories started to flood into his head with images of blood, a battered body on the cliffside, and yellow flower petals. Cloud got on his knees and started to breath heavily. Though not suffering from any headaches, the emotional rollercoaster from the images was enough to weaken him temporarily.

"Of all the times…"

He struggled his way back up, albeit, a bit more clumsy than he was used to. "If...I manage to save this planet...are my sins forgiven?"

His phone vibrated violently and shook him off from his trance. He took it out of his pocket and unlocked the screen.

Shulk: "Hey, we got the whole crew studying in the library. Well...heavy emphasis on the 'studying'."

He put his phone away and took deep breath. He looked towards the sky with a somber look, "I don't know if you can go beyond the lifestream, but please watch over me." With that out of the way, he finally made his way to the entrance.

Meanwhile, in the library, Team RWBY and the part of the Smash crew were playing a game of Melee HD on their new Nintendo Switch. Shulk and Corrin were showing them the ropes as they were busy pummeling each other. Ruby played Falco, Yang played Captain Falcon, Weiss Played Marth, and Blake played Sheik. They all have agreed to play with no items, and on Final Destination.

Ruby and Yang focused all their attention on each other first, with Ruby making the first hit with Falco's Shine! Then she jumped while C. Falcon was still staggered and performed a downward spike! She dashed away as Yang tried to do a get up attack and dashed right back to grab the Bounty Hunter. She proceeded to pummel C. Falcon until she slammed him onto the ground with Falco's signature down throw and sprayed him with lasers! Yang held the control stick towards the opposite direction of Falco to roll her character back. Unfortunately, C. Falcon's roll was too slow which allowed Falco to grab him once again!

"Where do you think you're going?" Said a smug Ruby.

She slammed C. Falcon once again and sprayed more lasers. Try as she might, rolling her character back did no good as Falco kept coming in for the chain grab. Finally, as they've reached the edge, Ruby made Falco perform downward spike. Yang tried to use C. Falcon's recover ability but Ruby went off stage and performed another downward spike, sending C. Falcon to his doom!

"Hey, you had a good rhythm going!" said Shulk.

Ruby smiled and scratched her nose. "Heh, what can I say? I'm a natural!"

Yang growled and fire erupted from her body. Her pupils were set ablaze and her hair flowed violently.

Captain was revived back onto the stage and she made him go to town. She lunged forward and used C. Falcon's signature stomp. Each time Ruby tried to get back up, she did another Stomp.

"Whoa,..WHoa….WHOA!" Corrin said in excitement.

Ruby's high percentage made her fly off the stage and she tried to recover using the Firebird. Yang went off the stage and interrupted the Firebird with C. Falcon's own recovery move and blasted Falco away!

Shulk couldn't contain himself. "What are you doing!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?

Corrin was on the edge of her seat. "Please, PLease, PLEASE!"

Ruby attempted to recover onstage once more, but this time, Yang performed a somersault kick as the Firebird animation ended. Due to the high percentage, she performed another stomp; launching Falco high in the air. She leaped and performed Falcon's signature knee!

"She has a family, SHE HAS A FAMILY!" Shulk yelled.

Corrin jumped from her seat and yelled at the top of her lungs. "OH MY GOD! SUPER SMASH BROS MELEE!"

"Noooooooooooooooooo!" Ruby squealed as she proceeded to cry and lay her head down the table.

"What was that about natural talent sis?" Yang said as she nudged Ruby.

Although the C. Falcon hype be combo was no less than epic. Weiss couldn't help but stare blankly at the screen. "Sooo...why is Marth in the game again?"

Marth's heart dropped and started to sweat bullets. "Oh no, we really didn't think this through!" He thought.

Shulk was shuffling through different cabinet files in his head to find some believable explanation. "Err… just a pure coincidence! The devs must have really liked the name Marth."

Weiss cocked her head to the side and looked towards Marth. "But it looks just like him."

Marth gulped. Shulk's cabinet of ideas were falling apart and Corrin was too busy trying to get Blake to play.

"Pffrrtt! As if Marth can look as good as the Marth in the game. Samus said from behind the Melee crew.

Marth went from having his heart drop, to having his heart shatter. He grabbed his chest, and nearly fainted.

"Meh, I suppose you're right." Weiss replied.

Now the Hero King had to deal with fighting back the tears. "I'm quite confused about thanking you."

Samus gave him a pat on the back. "You can thank me later."

"Enough waiting, more fighting!" Said a restless Yang. "Or are you scared Snowflake?"

Weiss gasp and held her chest. "I'll have you know, That I play these kind of game pretty well."

"Pfffrrt! Do you even play video games?"

"You dare question my experience?"

"Put your money where your mouth is."

Weiss growled and got into gamer pose. "You'll regret this!"

turned towards Marth who was standing in idle and dashed into max speed. The speed did not scare Weiss one bit; she pressed the jump button and performed a forward air slash.

"Whoa! Both Shulk and Corrin let out involuntarily. They rocked back and forth all jittery.

She then input the command for a neutral slash where Marth swung the sword horizontally twice, and followed with a chain grab. Marth threw the Captain up and slashed him midair to keep the combo going!

"She can feel the power!" Shulk said standing up.

"What is going on!?" Corrin said falling off her chair.

Yang dashed away only for Wiess' Marth to catch up and grab C. Falcon again and throw him in the air! She jumped into the air and performed a spike, making Yang's character slam against Final Destination! She waved dashed back and forth to confuse Yang, grabbing her in the process and finishing it with a forward smash!

Corrin, Shulk, and Ruby all got up to hug Weiss over her stellar victory over Yang.

"Weiss! I can't believe you managed to avenge me!" Ruby said with tears coming out.

Weiss shoved her off. "Avenge you? Oh please, I was trying to destroy her."

"Sup losers," a familiar voice called out.

The Melee crew turned to see it was the none other than their own rapscallion.

"Hey Sun!" Greeted Ruby.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake...Ice Queen."

Weiss flung her arms up. "Why does everyone keep calling me that?"

Sun pointed both his fingers towards Link. "Link, my man! Good to see you again!"

Link smiled, and waved at our light hearted Faunus.

"Is that the other 'best friend' you were going to replace me with?" Said the boy in blue hair that was walking besides him.

Sun put his hands behind his neck. "Probably, unlike you he's most likely not afraid of water."

"Good to know we're good friends."

"Anywho, I never got a chance to formally introduce you guys to my old friend."

The boy had tan skin, dark blue eyes, and messy light blue hair that was shaved on the sides and in the back. Basically an undercut. He wore a white dress shirt and black tie under a red jacket with a wide, upturned, black collar and a pair of gray jeans with black padding strapped to the sides. He also sported a pair of yellow-tinted goggles worn on his forehead.

He gave a friendly wave to everyone. "I'm Neptune…. He paused afterwards and saw something that stopped his heart from beating for a good minute. Or more accurately, someone.

"So Neptune, where are you from?" asked Ice Queen.

"Haven…" He said as he walked towards a certain blonde. His body kept moving closer involuntarily, Although he knew he couldn't control his body. His brain was 100% ok with it. His eyes were glued at the luscious blonde hair. The mature feminine facial structure, and her beauty mark on her chin kept his heart racing. He finally stopped right in front of the table she was sitting behind and fixed his posture. He adjusted his tie and and let out a cough.

Samus who was busy reading a book on the Grimm peeked over, and saw a boy with a cocky grin. "May I help you?"

"I believe we haven't been formally introduced."

Samus rolled her eyes. "Obviously, since we're total strangers."

Neptune laughed it off as smooth as he could. "Well, I'm Neptune."

"Neptune huh. Does that mean you like water?"

The hitter was starting to sweat bullets after hearing that comment. "Well….not exactly."

Samus chuckled. "Whaaat? Come on! I bet you hit the pool with those abs everyday."

Neptune eyes flickered, and placed his hands on his abs. "Why, I didn't think you would notice through all these clothes."

Samus' mouth curved into a smile. "It'd be much easier to see if you were wet."

Neptune blinked several times. "Eh?"

She took a cup of water from Robin who was the unfortunate soul who was sitting beside her, and chucked it right at the Playboy.

Neptune screamed like a little girl and started rolling on the floor and took his clothes off in the process.

The Melee crew stared blankly with Sun watching in embarrassment.

"Oh geez…" Sun said with a facepalm. "So Blake, never saw you as the Gamer girl.

"Right, well, I think I'm done playing actually. I'll see you guys later," She said as she shoved Sun out of the way and left the scene.

"Women" Nora Blurted out in an attempt to make things less awkward.

"Not just her either, say did you run into Cloud on the way here?" Shulk asked.

"The guy with the huge sword!? He replied while pretending to unsheath the Buster sword.

"That's the one."

"How in the world does he carry that thing!?"

Ruby scratched the side of her head. "I asked myself that once when I tried to snuck out with it."

Sun regained his composure and cupped his chin. "But no, I haven't seen him. Sorry guys, maybe he's not the studying type? If so, he's cool in my book!"

The rest of time CLIM overheard Sun's answer and looked towards each other with a bleak look. Yang and Weiss noticed the brooding look on their leaders face.

Later that night, on Team CLIM's side of things; the room was silent, with each hero keeping to themselves. All the members besides their leader dared not to break the ice. The room was dark with each hero lying on their bed, knowing they were all awake. They all had thoughts racing through their minds, but not as much as the leader of the group.

"You being an outsider already bothers me."

"How can I be sure you'll actually care enough to protect the academy?"

"You can just leave and go back home to your planet as if nothing ever happened."

"I just hope you can keep the death count to a minimum."

Cloud gritted his teeth and clenched his fist hard. Those phrases played on repeat over and over again. The night, and its silence did not help one bit. If anything it amplified it to the point where Cloud's flashbacks were reappearing again. Images were more intense than ever, and even more violent than usual. The memories started to flood in with a burned village, a blown reactor, and a Materia bouncing into the lake. Cloud started breathing heavily and sweated furiously. He got jumped off the bed immediately and headed straight for the door.

"Cloud!" Marth yelled from the opposite end as Cloud slammed the door.

"Let him go." Ike Replied.

"But -"

"If he's our leader, he'll tell us. For now, we wait."

Link stared blankly at the door and let out a deep sigh. "Hopefully sooner than later."

Cloud stumbled around in the hall with each step making him weaker. He bumped into the walls and tripped over something soft. As he was falling someone had the reflex to quickly catch our Hero in need.

"What the..?"

"Ow," A fallen Ruby let out. "Cloud?"

She saw the fallen warrior sunken unto a Woman's arm. She wore a dark gray outfit with a long-sleeve collared top and white armband. Unlike the other mint-green haired girl who was wearing silver knee-high socks, she wore black tights. The boy accompanying them wore the men variant of their uniform with the same colors.

Cloud lay helplessly in the woman's arms as she attempted to place him against a wall.  
"Are you alright?" The Woman asked.

The flashbacks finally stopped with Cloud finally regaining his energy. "Yeah. I hope I didn't cause too much trouble."

"Not at all, and may I get the name of whom I'm helping?" She said in a seductive tone.

"Cloud..Cloud strife," He said as he picked himself up.

Ruby observed the uniforms of the trio and narrowed her eyes. "Are you guys exchange students from -"

"Haven," the Woman finished.

Ruby stares for a moment while the Woman stares at Cloud.

"Ooh! You're here for the festival! But exchange students have their own dormitory."

"I guess we just got turned around," Said the boy with silver hair.

"Hey, don't worry, it happens all the time. She used hand gestures to point them to the right direction. Uh, your building is just east of here,"

The two subordinates went on ahead with the Woman staying behind for a little bit. While gazing into his eyes she involuntarily bit her lip. Cloud's mind was too foggy to really think anything of it. At this point, he really didn't have the energy to really care what happens to him.

"Uhhh…." Ruby said unconformably.

The Woman giggled and grazed her hand upon his cheek as she left. "Be seeing you."

After the trio disappeared, Ruby shook her head back into reality and walked over to Cloud. "Um...do you know her?"

Cloud shrugged with his eyes clothes. "First time seeing them."

Ruby let out a sigh of relief. "Sooo...nothing between you two?"

He peeked to the corner of his eye and snickered. "You expect me to date anyone here?"

She gave out a half-hearted laugh and sulked. "No one in particular."  
"So what are you doing out in the hallway?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I asked first."

Ruby scratched her neck, scrambling her brain to remember what she was supposed to ask. More importantly, how to ask it. "W-w-well, you see? Um...how do I put this?"

A door creaked open to catch both the attention of Ruby and Cloud. Alas Blake Belladonna had stepped into the fray.  
"Ruby, what's taking you so long?"

Ruby pressed her fingers against each other. Avoiding eye contact with either two. "Blake, I think you should take this for the team."

Blake sighed and walked over to Cloud with our hero cocking his head to the side. Both Team RWBY and CLIM had peeked through their doors.

"I'll cut to the chase, I- we need your help."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "With?"

She turned the other way and held her arm. "I don't know about you, but I can't be calm knowing something big is happening."

"Which is?"

"Don't play dumb Cloud!" She lashed out at the tired SOLDIER. "You of all people know something bigger is at hand!"

Cloud gave her an impassive look. "You mean all the run-ins we had with Torchwick? He's nothing more than a runaway thug."

Blake grew hostile. "Don't play me for a fool!"

Cloud was taken aback, and blinked in response to her backlash.

"I can't stand her doing nothing, knowing they're out there, planning something destructive!"

Cloud put his hand to the side. "Look, you think you can take em on your own? Let the police and huntsmen handle them.

"They don't know the White Fang like I do!"

"You're not ready!"

"And we may never be ready!" She walked towards Cloud and got on her tippy toes and extend her height. Her face got dangerously close the the frustrated Blonde. " What are you afraid of?"

Ruby watched in fear as she felt the extreme tension between her two friends.

He returned the black huntress with a darkly expression. "Knowing lives will be lost due to some stupid idea hatched by a girl who thinks she can do this without any help!" He said with a raised harsh tone.

Blake grit her teeth and clenched her fist as hard as she could. "I"M ASKING FOR YOURS!"

She lowered herself and looked the other way. Cloud made no eye contact with a grave expression. "I….I'm just another student."

"No you're not," She said softly.

Cloud gave a confused look and Blake stared back with confidence. "Look, I'm not sure if the other members know, but you guys from the Smash Academy are not 'normal students'."

His body became uncomfortable, and languid. "What are you talking about?"

"Pyrrha took notice on how easy the initiation was for you guys." She walked around him, keeping her eyes on him. "She even took note of Ike's comment. What was it? Not going 'all out?'"

Cloud began to feel faint. It was bad enough going through the flashbacks, but now he had to deal with the stress of being figured out.

"And don't get me started on how Link fights. He's on par with Pyrrha, if not better."

She stopped walking, and they both gaze into each other with stern looks. "You guys are not 'normal students'."

Ruby couldn't help but walk to the agonized Cloud. Surely there was something she could do she thought. She held his arm and looked up to the tall figure. Her eyes glinted at the unusual persona he was portraying. "I know you haven't been yourself as of late. Especially today."

Cloud gave no response with the absent minded look.

"But I'm willing to listen if you let me." She looked towards the ground, trying to hide her expression. "And maybe, you could help us just this once? It'd be nice to have the same Cloud who made sure nothing would happen to me, just like initiation."

Her words pierced through his heart and sent painful vibes throughout his entire body. What has he become he thought? The changed man that Tifa was bragging about was a shell of his former self. Now nothing more than a coward hiding from his friends he thought.

"I….I have to get back to you guys tomorrow. I promise I'll have an answer."

Blake returned to her door with Yang and Weiss darting back to pretend sleep. "We'll be leaving after Professor Port's class."

And just like that, the door was shut and the hallway fell silent. Team CLIM closed the doors to leave the duo to themselves. Ruby stood by his side, still clinging on to his arm. She clinged on tighter as he started to shake, holding back the rage he felt inside.


	3. Bringing retro back

We arrive in a building built specifically for transfers from different academies. Fortunately for them, they get the same accommodations as well. A standard single furnished bedroom with four beds and one restroom. The trio that Cloud and Ruby bumped into had finally reached their room and made themselves at home.

"So? Did you get a good look at him?" asked the silvered haired Boy.

The mint-haired girl he was talking put her hands to the side and looked at him cock-eyed. "Seriously Mercury? You're asking me if I got a good look?"

"Well, did you?"

"Hell yes! How could I not? She pulled her hair as she paced around the room. "Ugh if only he fell on me!"

Mercury just sat in place and stare blankly. "Uh, Emerald? Since when did you care about guys?"

"Just because I don't find your hideous face attractive doesn't mean I'm not interested." She sighed as she sat down from her excitement. "And besides, who said I cared about him? I'm just giving credit where it's due. It's just too bad that he hangs around that annoying little brat."

Mercury held in his laugh. "You don't even know the chic!"

She rolled her eyes. "Know her long enough to hear how annoying her voice is."

As the two continued to bicker, their leader had bigger things on her mind. Her expression grew more malevolent as she thought about her plans coming to fruition. "Tell me Mercury, did his features match those of what Roman described?"

Mercury smirked. "Oh yeah, no doubt about it. The spiky hair, the crazy lean physique, and eyes as blue as the sky. All he was missing was his uniform and that giant sword he also mentioned. I kinda find it hard to believe he can actually carry a 6ft hunk of metal, especially during combat."

"Not only that, but he can also hurl meteorites!" Emerald chimed in. Plus, he doesn't use dust."

The leader pulled out some files and started to examine them. She was flipping through them at an impressive speed with light bulbs popping out and blinking on.

"What are you looking Cinder?" Emerald asked.

"Some pictures and data on these 'transfers students' from the Smash Academy." Cinder replied.

She narrowed her eyes and grew the same dark smile. "According to Roman, these 'students' shouldn't even be enrolled. If anything he believes they could go toe to toe with the hunters and huntresses of beacon."

"So...why enroll?" Asked Mercury.

She slammed her folder tight and stood up. She chuckled slowly in a low tone. "I have a theory."

"A Game Theory?" Emerald spouted out as she shot up.

"I love that show!" Mercury blurted out.

"Quiet! Both of you!" She shouted as she gave them the death stare.

The duo sat back on their beds and gulped. Cinder opened her folder one more time and turned over to the page with Cloud's picture on it. "Ozpin must have hired some muscle to protect Beacon in a more…'discreet manner.'"

A light bulb shot up from Mercury's head. "You don't mean-"

"Precisely. Most likely from the outside world." She hovered her fingers over Cloud's portrait and gazed into it. "Lucky for us, we have ourselves an outside intervention of our own."

 _ **Back on the good guy side of things**_

Team RWBY were making preparations for the investigations on the White Fang. With school done and over with for the day, they all changed into their alternate outfits. Ruby with the slayer, Weiss with the SnowPea, Yang with the Hunter, and Blake with the Intruder. Accompanying them was Link, who wore his usual heroic green tunic. Only this time, he sported a blue scarf with the Triforce insignia and had a pauldron on his left shoulder. Other's accompanying the team were Shulk and Corrin.

Blake was tightening the black ribbons around her arms while staring at Link. She appreciated the minor touches he added to his outfit that brought out the more heroic look she liked from him. "Funny, she thought. He was the exact depiction of a fairy tale hero. Something she loathed to read in literature. But here she was cracking a smile against her own will once again. Link notice her staring and waved at her. Her reaction to him was quite priceless as she bumbled around like an idiot in silence.

Finally free from the awkwardness, she was able to utter coherent words. "So..just you huh?"

Link scratched the back of his head. "Well, Ike and Marth said they were coming after we eavesdropped last night."

Blake lowered her eyes and gave off a somber look. "So no Cloud then."

The students in the room felt their morale going down, with Ruby's sinking down the lowest.

"I didn't see him this morning. He left and made his bed before we woke up."

"We didn't see the big guy in class either." Shulk added.

Someone began to knock abruptly, destroying the sulking mood in the room. Curiosity ran through everyone's neck and wondered who could be knocking on the door. None of them had told any of Team JNPR.

"Nice! More reinforcements! Said an enthused Corrin. "No doubt it's that hulking guerrilla and Marth."

"I got it," Yang said as she went to open the door. As she pulled and revealed the stranger behind the door. Everyone was in complete shock. Taken aback by a mile, the person they were looking at was eerily familiar, yet different. He wore a black robe with a design that had fighting in mind. His hair spikes were pulled back and more refined. He wore a high collar sleeveless indigo shirt, black pants and boots, and a black cloth covering his left side. He had a black pauldron, and his chest is covered by two straps, held in place by a badge that resembled a wolf.

Yang shut the door immediately and brought the team back to their senses.

"Yang, what is wrong with you!?" Weiss shouted.

Yang placed her back against the door. "Whoa, TIME OUT!" Before you guys say anything, I need to get this off my chest."

Blake tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Was that who I think it is?"

"HOT DAMN!" Yang screamed at the top of her lungs. "He is so going to be my partner for this investigation!"

"YANG!" A flustered little red called out.

She opened the door back up and revealed an expressionless Mercenary.

Her eyelids drooped with one arm hanging down with the other still hanging onto the doorknob. "Helloooooo…."

All eyes were on him, waiting for the SOLDIER to utter a word. "Am I late?"

Blake gave a half smile. "Just in time, actually."

"Dude! No way!" A familiar voice called out from the window. "Neptune, this is the guy I was talking about!"

Sun hopped off the tree and into the living room. The sudden intrusion made everyone freeze for a moment. Trying to make sense of everything happening at once.

"How did you?..." Yang asked slowly.

"Oh we have our ways," Neptune replied as he made his way inside."

Sun slammed his fist into his palm. "So, I see we have ourselves a rag tag team of sorts. Are we getting back at that Torchwick guy?

"We are going to investigate the situation...as a team." Blake stated.

"Sorry guys. We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to." Ruby added.

"Psh! That's dumb! We should always get friends involved. That's why you brought these guys!" He pointed at every single smasher in the room and stopped at Corrin to give her a wink. Not knowing why he was twitching, she gave back with an innocent wave.

"You even brought the big guy with you!"

All eyes were on Cloud as he stood with an intimidating posture. The team was still in shock in the fact that he actually decided to show up after last night's hesitation. However, this Cloud seemed different. He carried with him a darker demeanor, something not everyone was used to.

Despite that Blake felt relieved. "So, what made up your mind?"

Cloud closed his eyes to better control the memories this time around. Although it wasn't a lot, he was getting better at controlling his flashbacks. "Well, before enrolling in the Smash Academy, I was a mercenary."

"I see…. a jack of all trades." Weiss stated.

"Yeah, I do whatever's needed."

Blake ears flickered as soon as they picked up that phrase. "Oh, I know where this is going." She stood in front of him with little distance apart from each other. " Say, Cloud. Have you ever been a bodyguard?"

"Yeah..."

She smiled. "Then you can keep us from getting killed."

Cloud gave them a cheeky look. " Ok, I'll do it… but it'll cost you."

Everyone looked towards Weiss with the Snow Princess blinking in surprise. "No way! I don't carry cold hard cash! Plus father would kill me if he saw a huge withdraw. Cloud looks expensive."

A light bulb popped out of Yang's head with the fiery blonde eyes sparkling. She rushed over to Ruby and pushed from behind. Ruby tried to scrape her heels onto the floor but Yang's strength was not having it. Ruby flailed her arms as Yang brought her closer to Blake and Cloud's direction. The little Red accidentally smacks the feline out of her way with Yang finally done with all the pushing.

Ruby was only a few inches away from Cloud. Trying not to look him in the eye to avoid the awkwardness, she glanced around other parts of his body to ease the tension and saw that he carried four different holsters behind his back housing the many blades he carried. He also carried a larger sword that was not placed onto a holster but instead attached to a magnet. She looked in awe and drooled at its beauty. "We meet again Fusion Swords," She whispered to herself seductively.

Yang cleared her throat. "Ahem! I present to you, our payment!"

"WHAT?" The whole room shouted.

Yang scratched her nose while presenting a smug smile. "You get to have one date with Ruby!"

"Not this again…" Cloud said gloomingly.

"Then it's settled," Weiss stated, "We have an extra hand, you get a date with the dunce."

Cloud glared at Shulk with the Monado wielder holding his hands in front of him. "Don't look at me, I didn't plan this!"

"Speaking of plans, can we get on with this already!?" Said an impatient Corrin.

Everyone in the room formed a circle in anticipation to discuss the current mission at hand.

Ruby cleared her throat. "As you guys know, today is the day. Let the investigations begin!" She leaped up into the air as high as she could.

"I'm glad to see we're taking this so seriously," said a sarcastic Weiss.

"Hey! We got a plan...that's moderately serious," Yang stated.

"Right! Ruby replied. "Everyone remember their roles?"

Weiss stepped up to the plate first. "You, Shulk and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem."

Blake came right after. "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If we can get in, we can hopefully find out what they're planning. Besides Sun, I'll be bringing Link and Corrin along since they look similar to the Faunus."

And Lastly, Yang. "I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard…" She looked over to Cloud and gave him a wink. "Cloud will be my bouncer so it'll keep the little boys grubby hands off me. Plus those blades would make anyone squeak."

Ruby scrunched up her face. "Wait a minute! Shulk has a sword that extends into a lightsaber! He can scare the baddies way better than Cloud can. Let's switch!"

Shulk stood proud and placed his fist on his chest. "Finally, some recognition," Shulk thought to himself.

Yang made a dismissive wave gesture. "Pfffrrrt! Shulk would get eaten alive out there. I think I'll stick to my hunk." She grabbed Cloud's arm and they both walk away in style.

"Wait!" Ruby yelled as she stuck her arm out. "My swords…."

Weiss shook her head and pulled the sullen leader by the hood and dragged her out the door.

"Right! Let's head out!" Blake commanded.

Here we have Ruby, Weiss, and Shulk arriving to a monumental tower that loomed over the crossroads of Beacon Academy.

"Woooow!" Ruby squealed! I forget how big the Transmit tower looks up close!"

Shulk looked in awe. He couldn't help but smile with the advancement in technology this world had over his. "What are these things?"

They stopped walking with both girls looking back at the blonde. "Umm...?"

"Have you been living under a rock?" Weiss asked in a mocking tone.

Shulk started to sweat nervously. "Well...you know...uh, I'm from the country!"

"Ooooooh that makes sense!" Ruby said.

Weiss continued on. "The Cross Continental Transmit System is a communication technology in Remnant which allows instantaneous multimedia communication wirelessly over large distances."

"Amazing," Shulk said softly. "Back where I'm from, we're still using radio."

Weiss eyes darted towards him. "You really should get out more."

Shulk slumped towards the ground. "Not the first time that's been said to me."

"It's so coool! Ooh, I'm going to take a picture!" Ruby digs into her pocket for her scroll, with all her excitement however, she accidentally launches the device from her hands. The scroll bounced along on the pavement until it landed in front of someone.

Ruby eyes widened as her body went through a sudden shock. "Penny!?"

Penny, who was just a surprised looked as if she was talking to a total stranger. "Uuuh…"

"Where have you been? We haven't seen you since that night at the docks!"

Penny held the phone out in front of her. "S-sorry. I think you're confused." She hiccups, and tosses the Scroll into Ruby's hands. "Uh...I've got to go!" She quickly turned away from the crew and walks away.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked.

Shulk held his chin and delved into his thoughts. The words night and dock seem to have triggered his brain. He quickly opened his eyes and snapped his fingers in revelation. "If I recall, Cloud and Link told me something about a girl who took down entire airships! Don't tell me it was her!"

"Oh you better believe it! And because she was there we need her to tell us what happened during that time!"

"Well, alright then! Let's not stand around now, we have answers to pursue!"

The duo set their sights on the orange haired girl and ran after her.

"Weiss, you go make your call! I'll meet up with you later!"

"Wait are you serious!? " She lowered her hand and sighed angrily seeing as it was futile to stop them. "Marth would still be here if Cloud had brought him along."

They ran towards Penny as fast as they could. When they had finally caught up to her, she was still walking as if she was lost in her own thoughts, shutting out the rest of the world.

"Penny! Where have you been? It's been weeks!"

"There seems to be a … misunderstanding," Penny replied dully. She continued on a set of stairs as she continued to ignore the duo.

"What?!" Ruby shouted as she slid down the stair rail. "Penny... Is everything okay?

Penny continues forward without reaction with Shulk grabbing her by the arm. "Hold on now, is that any way to treat a friend? Just pop up out of nowhere and suddenly leave them in the dark?"

She turned around a gave him a sorrowful look. Feeling a sense guilt, Shulk let go of her. She turned towards Ruby and grabbed her by the shoulders. "It isn't safe to talk here."

Penny looked around in paranoia with Shulk and Ruby left standing confused.

The three agreed to meet up somewhere further away from the school. Penny was standing near a cafe of some sorts with patio furniture. She looks around anxiously when suddenly, a hand touches her shoulder. She jumped almost instantaneously with her heart skipping a few beats. She turned to see that it was Ruby her other blonde friend that was less spiky than the last. From there they walked a linear path to discuss the important matters at hand. Penny explained that she couldn't help Ruby and Shulk with their investigations seeing as she doesn't know anything about the White Fang. Ruby pressed on for more info regarding Penny's whereabouts that night. Much to their surprise it was her father that took her away and for most of her life, she had been sheltered from the kingdom.

"I… was asked not to talk to you. Or Ike. Or Link. Or Cloud. Anybody really." Penny said bluntly.

"Was your dad that upset?" Ruby asked.

"No, it wasn't my father…"

Abrupt sounds of megaphone announcements cut off Penny before she could continue. They peeked around the corner to see a platform in the center of a plaza where a holographic Ironwood displayed. Behind him were several androids standing in front of large metal storages. "The AK-130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years, and they have done a fine job. Wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree?" The crowd claps as Ironwood continued to make his speech on the technological advances Atlus has made. Ruby and Shulk eyes were glued to the entire presentation. Being the tech junkies they were, it was an event they couldn't pass up. "But... the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation, and 'fine'... Well, that's just not good enough, is it? Presenting... the Atlesian Knight-200!"

"Whooa…"Shulk said slowly. "Do you think he would let me pick inside one of those?"

"I'd still touch it even if they said no…" Ruby said back.

"These models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone! Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that will undoubtedly require... a human touch."

Being close to the event made Penny Anxious. "Guys?"

"So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company, are proud to introduce... the Atlesian Paladin!"

The hologram transitions its display to present a hulking white behemoth, equipped with large gun arms and a rectangular body.

Ruby's eyes gleamed as drool was leaking out from her mouth. At this point she was pretty much hunched over.

"Okay, that is totally a ripoff of Metal Gear!" Shulk pointed out.

"We also have another cooperation with an up and coming academy that has been taking strides since its creation." The hologram transitions once again into another display. This time displaying a robot that looked awfully familiar. "Introducing a hybrid the machine, R.O.B.!

"What!?" Shulk shouted.

"Now I know what you're thinking, it looks a lot like a toy. It was designed this way to be easier on the eyes for kids. R.O.B. will not only help with civilian work, but also working alongside the police force. The crowd claps and cheers at the odd but unique design of the machine.

"Hey, it seems pretty neat. Can't wait to see those little guys walk around!" The optimistic Ruby saw a disturbed Shulk in the corner of her eye. "What's wrong?"

Shulk dug into his pocket and pulled out his Iphone. He opened the camera app and took several pictures to send as MMS. "Something isn't right. I don't recall Master Hand having some joint business operation to produce R.O.B.s Ozpin wanted only a handful of people to take care of matters here." He pressed his thumb onto the messenger app and sent the pics to everyone in the Smash team.

Ruby was left to ponder why Shulk was whispering to himself. His sudden strange behavior was the least of her problems however, as two guards were pointing right at them. She turns to Penny's direction and realizes that the orange haired girl had bolted away from the scene. "Penny! Wait! Where are you going?" She turns back to see that the Soldiers are running towards them. She grabs Shulk by the shoulders and shook him violently. "HEY! We got to go after Penny!"

Shulk finally shook off from his daze. "Again!?"

"Look!" She said as she pointed towards the soldiers.

Shulk's eyes widened. "Uh oh! We better get a move on!"

The two darted to Penny's direction into an alley to try and catch up as fast as they could. Penny runs across the street with the other two following suit. The soldiers didn't stop look both ways, and a honking car nearly runs them over. One barely manages to get past the hood of the car, and the other touches the hoods just as the driver slams the breaks. A lucky one indeed.

Still trying to catch up with the girl, Ruby sees a high stack of crates and cuts them down to create a diversion. Seeing Penny right in front of them Shulk activates his SPEED Art to cover him and Ruby in a blue aura.

Penny suddenly felt as light as a feather, and could move her feet effortlessly without any pressure on her legs. "Whoa! Is that coming from your weapon?"

"My Monado buffs me and my companions in the right situations. Ranging from jumping greater distances to having enormous strength."

"Okay, definitely tied for first place with Cloud's weapon!"

Shulk runs up and picks up Ruby bridal style. He brought his arms back and closed one eye for a steady aim. "I'll throw as hard as I can! You focus on getting the girl!"

Ruby nodded, and Shulk fired the little red away. Ruby grabs Penny and immediately activates her semblance to carry the momentum of Shulk's throw. Alas, for some strange reason, Penny must have put on a few pounds before they met because Ruby's arms were beginning to strain. With great weight and a dying momentum came two girls crashing down. Ruby's body bounces helplessly all the way into the middle of the street. She gets up slowly with her body fighting back to keep her down. She was in a dazed state, too much so that she didn't notice a truck coming in to flatten the little girl.

Shulk sees from afar with a vision coming into play. The vision shows images of Penny jumping in front of Ruby to take the hit. "No, no, no , no ,NO!" He grabbed his Monado once more and Swung it full force with the SHIELD Art activated.

Just as his vision had predicted, Penny leaps into the scene to save Ruby. She pushes the little Red away and holds her palms out. In just a split second, the Truck and Penny make contact, with the ground crumbling into pieces beneath the two.

Shulk gawked at what just happened. "I guess SHIELD Art was not necessary," he thought to himself. He smacked himself upside the head to get back into gear. He realized that Penny and Ruby had already run off, and pursues them once again. He checks the driver of the truck before he leaves and sees the old man still in good shape and unscathed.

He finally arrives at the scene with Ruby running up to block him.

"Ruby, what's going on?"

"What do you mean? Nothings wrong! Everythings totally fine! She's actually really cute for a robot!" She said frantically.

Shulk tilted his head. "Wait, what?"

Ruby felt a sudden drop in her body. "Oops."

Penny pulled Ruby off of Shulk and pushed her gently aside. She looks at Shulk with eyes that look as if they were tearing up. "Ruby, I don't think…"

Ruby rested her hands on her shoulders. "Penny, he's a friend too. You can trust him. I-I think."

Shulk rolled his eyes. "Oh come now! I chased you all the way here for a reason. We were pals the moment I knew you and Ruby were friends."

Penny's eyes lit up and she lept onto Shulk's arms. While Shulk was ready to catch her, the sudden weight of the world was on his shoulders him causing his legs to lose all support. They both fall with Penny on top of him, not loosening up her strength even by a little.

"I see someone packs some very dense muscles….or your parents are feeding you well!" Shulk grunted. Losing air ever so slowly.

As she was busy hugging the poor boy, she felt small taps on her shoulder.

"Uh..Penny?" Ruby reminded.

"Oh right!" She got up immediately and violently picked up Shulk off the ground.

"Ow, hey you got to be a little more gentle with me." Shulk whined.

After shaking off the pain, he saw that she was holding out her hand. At first he didn't know what to think of it. But the more he paid attention, the more something was off. That's when it finally clicked. Her skin was torn and underneath wasn't your usual insides of a human. More like the lack thereof. He grabbed her hand and gently felt over the metal parts of her palm.

Penny gave him the most confused look she's even given anyone. And she hasn't met that many people. "Shulk… you're taking this rather well."

"It's just so neat! So are you like a machine?"

"Mmhmm. I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura. Despite the warm reception, she brings her hands back to herself and lowers her head. "I'm not real…"

Shulk grabbed her hand back towards him which in turn shocked Penny. Her eyes darted back at him and saw a blonde with the biggest grin on his face. "Not true. You can't tell me someone as beautiful as you are isn't real."

Her eyes glistened, and suddenly the weight of lies and buried secrets were kept to rest. "You're a lot less scary than Mega Man that's for sure! Honestly, this doesn't faze me one bit."

She smiled and immediately grabbed the poor boy giving him another proper squeeze session. "Oh Ruby! You keep bringing me new friends my heart is going to burst!"

Shulk was turning blue to the face. He tried with every inch of his being to utter words with what little breath he had. "I'm...really….feeling it.'

 _ **Later in the night….**_

His phone vibrated letting out the signature fanfare his friends knew him for. Cloud, Yang and Neptune were riding off in the ruined parts of Vale. They drove past crumbled buildings and ghetto streets in Yang's Bumblebee and Cloud's Fenrir Motorcycle. Cloud watched the environment and envisioned a better time. It was almost like watching history go to waste. It also reminded him of the slums under the plates of Midgar. While one part Midgar flourished, the other was left to rot. They've finally reached their destination with Neptune lost in a daze due to Yang's passenger, and Yang wasting no time getting off and heading straight into work.

Cloud dug into his pocket to pull out his phone and saw that it was an MMS from Shulk. He swiped at the screen to unlock it and pulled open the messenger app. He was taken aback from what he saw and nearly dropped his phone. "What the hell?" He whispered to himself. A picture of Rob in the middle of Vale, no seeing Rob in Remnant at all was a surprise. He would think Master Hand would tell him if he were to send back up.

"Yo Cloud! You coming or what!?" Yang yelled.

He put the phone back into his pocket and hurried over to the other blonde with Neptune following suit. As they walked closer the music grew louder and the rumbling of the building got stronger. "Who would party all the way over here?" He thought.

There were two Henchmen in front of the door standing guard. At first glance, they looked intimidating. However, one quick glance of the Yellow Devil herself made them almost piss their pants and run inside.

"PPffffrrt! Don't pay no mind to them! My friends love me!" Yang reassured.

"You know Tifa says the same thing and she doesn't have many friends"

"Well, I'm a little better than Tifa." She winked and rocked her hips in front of the Swordsman. They made their way in with only a few more steps to take to reach the Main door. She pulled back her arm and swung full force; the bullets exploded and caused the doors to fly to the other side of the room. The explosion created a dramatic entrance for the trio as they walked slowly through the smoke.

Yang striked a pose and pulled off the most cocky smile. "Guess who's back!?"

All the goons inside the club had their guns pointed right at her. Angry and read, the henchmen were more than eager to pull the trigger on her. Though this doesn't faze her one bit. She turns her head towards Cloud and gave him a wink. "You know what to do big guy."

Cloud got in front of her and towered the goons in front of her.

"I don't care how big of a sword you got pal! It was a big mistake bring knives to a gunfight!" One of the goons held their gun closer to the SOLDIER's face. Unfazed by their taunts, he used his aura to create blue streamlike lines to grab the weapons behind his back. They lines quickly unsheathed all his weapons and brought them to each henchmen's neck. Shaking by the knees, and sweating furiously, Cloud couldn't help but chuckle as they shook their guns uncontrollably.

"Stop, stop! Nobody shoot." A man yelled as he cut his way through the crowd of goons. He had a buzz cut and beard reminiscent of a typical bartender. "Blondie, you're here! ...Why?"

"You still owe me a drink." She grabs him by the collar and drags the helpless body relentless towards the bar.

"Neptune gawked at the woman and one could have sworn his eyes were turning into the shape of hearts. "So...Cloud? "You calling dibs?"

Cloud shrugged. "She's all yours buddy. I've dealt with her kind."

"Don't mind if I do." He quickly followed her tail all while being fixated with her strongest assets.

"Poor bastard," Cloud thought to himself.

They all meet up at the bar, with Yang pressuring him to spill the beans. Try as she might, the only reply she could get was a clueless one. Junior either had no answer, or gave a convoluted one. He slams his glass down as he sits behind the par that separated him from the interrogators. Frustrated at each other, Neptune rushes in to put in some kind of input. Unfortunately it was a rather pointless one only leading to a more Frustrated Junior and Yang.

Cloud shook his head and pulled the main blade. He held it to Juniors neck and unlocked its battle mode. "Enough! Either tell us what Torchwick has been doing, or...he lowered the sword closer to the bartender's abdomen. "I'll chop them off."  
Junior's eyes shook with fear and a sudden switch in his head turned on. "Ok! Ok! Look, you gotta cut me some slack, otherwise word might get around that I snitched and well, you know sleeping with the fishes is not my style."

He fixed his tie to regain his composure and took a deep breath. " I first met him when he paid up front so he could borrow some muscle from me." He took a sip of water before he continued. "The second time he came to visit he dropped them off, all unconscious. Said he wasn't happy with them."

Cloud looked around the club and saw the henchmen were the exact same ones him and Ruby defeated a while back. "Yeah...sorry to hear that."

The bartender gave him a funny look. "Anyways, he came back with some…..foreigners.."

Neptune immediately raised his hands. "Wait, how would you know they were foreigners?"

Junior's face grew even more bleak. "Kid I've been around Vale long enough to know that those guys didn't belong here."

"Go into more detail," Yang demanded.

"Most of them were pretty disproportionate. Super short, super tall, super strong. To top it all off, some of them weren't even human. Maybe it was an evolution of the Faunus. But that sure as hell was no Faunus I've ever seen."

Cloud held his chin and put all the information together in his head. "R.O.B, foreigners...this isn't part of the script.." He thought. He pulled out his cellphone and sent a group text to everyone in Smash.

Cloud: Keep your eyes out for suspicious individuals. Apparently we got some "foreigners."

 _ **In another part of Vale in a secret recruiting facility.**_

Blake's team were blending in with the new recruits in an unknown facility. Surprisingly Corrin and Link made for some pretty convincing Faunus thanks to their ears. They were surrounded by all different types of Faunus. Teens, Young adult, Man, Woman, the inexperienced and experienced. To top it all off they were smack right in the middle of White Fang soldiers. Blake's team had the honor of hearing Roman Torchwick give a villainous speech, building riling up plenty of angry Faunus who wanted nothing more than to revolt all humans.

Link and Corrin felt their IPhones vibrate, and both pulled it out simultaneously.

Cloud: Keep your eyes out for suspicious individuals. Apparently we got some "foreigners."

Corrin smirked. "What in the world is he talking about?"

And just before Link Could Answer, Torchwick brought in the climax of his speech. He snapped his fingers and the curtain lifts revealing the giant Metal Gear like mech, and R.O.B.

Link and Corrin jumped back with their expressions scrunched.

"Why is R.O.B. here!?" Corrin asked.

"As some of you may have heard, this right here…" He taps on the metal giant. "...is Atlas' newest defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my "employer", we've managed to snag a few before they, uh, "hit the shelves"."

The man flipped his hair and grew the most crooked smile. "And this little guy….Ho ho! They don't look like much, but I'm telling ya, he's got strength and numbers. Best part? We're getting them all over Vale."

"I have a hunch," The green hero looked at his IPhone once more. "Foreigners...Corrin! You don't think he was sent her on a mission by Master Hand do you?"

Corrin scratched her head and thought up some scenarios. "No, last time I checked with the big guy we were enough! I mean come on, even with the nerfs we would destroy everyone here."

"Uuuhhh...guys!" Sun interrupted as he pointed at R.O.B. The robot had its scanners set on Blake's team.  
"Whatever he's doing. It's kinda creeping me out!"

R.O.B. then spazzed out of control and started to spin and jump. "Intruders! Intruders!" The lights that were emitting from the robot was reminiscent of red emergency lights.

Torchwick started to laugh uncontrollably. "YOU SEE!? Already doing his job! Looks like we got some intruders in here!" He pointed towards the crowd with his cane. "Let's play a game. Find out which one amongst you is a fake, and maybe you'll be paid handsomely by yours truly."

Sun began to fidget and pace in place. "Aw crap! Anybody got a plan?"

Blake tried to look over the crowd but alas, most of the Faunus towered over her. Corrin got on all fours and her clothes began to take over her body.  
"Corrin! What are you doing?" Blake shouted.

"There's no time to explain! I need all of you to hang onto me NOW!"

"It's better than what I got planned." Sun blurted.

"You mean nothing?" Link replied.

"Same thing!"

Corrin fully transformed into her beast form and extended her wings as far as she could. The Faunus looked in awe as they saw what they thought was one of their own turn into a mythical being. With charged up, and flapped her wings once to launch the entire team into the air, shattering the roof above them! Knowing she couldn't carry them forever, she held a glide for as long as she could before completely descending onto the rooftops. From there on, they continued to run as fast as they could.

"Somebody contact Cloud! Like NOW! Tell him to bring the whole calvary!" Sun yelled at the top of his lungs.

"I'm on it!" Blake shouted. "You two! See how many is following us."

Link did the honors and quickly turned his neck. His eyes shot wide open when he saw the vast numbers of R.O.B. units and the giant mech. "Corrin, don't look back!"

"You think I want to!?" She barked.

Shulk and Ruby were walking towards downtown when suddenly their phones started to ring violently. Ruby immediately pulled hers out hoping for exciting news.

Blake: "Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back-"

Sun: "HEEEELLLPPP!"

Corrin: IT WAS ALL LINK'S FAULT!"

"Everyone's counting on us! Let's move quickly!" Shulk ordered.

"Oh believe me, I'm so not missing out on this!"

Cloud and Yang were racing on their motorcycle with Neptune barely hanging on to the Yellow Devil's waist. They zoomed through the streets so fast the buildings began to blur. When they slowed down a little they were already in a different part of Vale. They made it to the highways and even from a distance they were able to spot jumping monkeys and a R.O.B. army on their tail.

"Holy crap! What did they get themselves into!?" Yelled Neptune.

Cloud revved up the Fenrir and accelerated even faster. "What the hell are a bunch of R.O.B. units doing here!?"

Yang's team had finally caught up to Blake's, trailing just behind the giant mech.

"We've gotta slow it down!" Yang ordered.

"Slow it!? You mean slow all of them!" Neptune said in disbelief.

Just when things were looking tough, a futuristic yellow spacecraft appeared on the scene. The roof opened and exposed all the Smash heroes along with Ruby and Weiss.

"Cheers love!" said an eccentric Ruby.

"The cavalry's here," Weiss said begrudgingly.

Samus focused in on the R.O.B. units and fired her laser beams. Wave after wave of units were destroyed causing debri to trip the giant Mech and falling over the highway. Blake and her team jumped on ahead to confront Torchwick.

"He better be dead this time. I swear if he pulls another team rocket stunt," Samus scoffed.

Before making another move, two more ships came into the fray. A red ship which zipped in between Yang and Cloud, almost causing them to crash into each other. The other shooting right at Samus' ship. A red and grey color scheme similar to Fox's Arwing.

"Crap! Guys give us a minute to bring this guy down!"

 _ **Phase 1: Team Yang vs Red Hawk**_

While Samus' crew were busy with the other intruder, the one that nearly got them killed came back and rammed Cloud's motorcycle against the guardrail. Spark and metal shred as he struggled to push back the hovering vehicle. The cockpit opened with a gun ready to greet Cloud's head. The blond heart jumped realizing who the figure was. The driver pulled the trigger with Cloud immediately braking and ducking his head. Yang came to the rescue and slammed into the intruder's vehicle.

Neptune brought out his weapon and extended it to a trident. He stabbed the vehicle hoping to bring it to a crawl. The intruder slammed the breaks and nearly took Neptune's arm with him. He aimed at the Bumblebee and fired multiple shots. Cloud quickly got behind her and drove the Fenrir with an 180 degree reverse thrust. He pulled out the main blade from Fenrir and deflected every single bullet. With everyone at even speeds, Neptune lunged forward and stabbed the hovercraft once more, finally disabling it. Knowing he wasn't going to drive much longer, the driver leaped from the cockpit. Cloud leaped just right after so that he may end him with his blade. As Cloud brought his arms back, he pulled in as hard as he could with the intention of taking this victory with one blow.

However, instead of slicing through, he was met with the knee of injustice! Cloud yelled in excruciating pain as the electrifying knee sent a sensation throughout his entire body. The enemy landed with grace as Cloud came dropping down like a fly, feeling as if his ribs were broken. Yang and Neptune came to his side protecting the SOLDIER.

Cloud looked up and glared at the enemy. "Blood Falcon!"

The red man laughed hysterically. "Finally some recognition."

"Can't stay in your own game?"

"What was the point in waiting? When I can invade this world and call it my own. Besides, once master hand finds out one of his trophies is missing; he'll have to send in Cpt. Falcon, giving me the chance to finally kill him!"

"You know this lunatic?" Yang asked.

"He's a copycat of a friend of mine back at the academy." He smirked and stood tall pointing his sword at the enemy. "He's the reason why we haven't gotten another F-Zero game!"

Neptune gasp. "You jerk! That's one of my favorite racing games of all time!"

"You take that back!" Blood Falcon demanded.

"Make me." Cloud got into his fighting stance with the others following suit.

Blood Falcon cracked his knuckles and lunged forward. Yang charged in aiming to deliver a shotgun blast to the face. They trade blows as they danced around and choreographed each hit. Blood Falcon short hopped and did a quick one-two kick to Yang's gut; kicking her straight into a guardrail.

Neptune came in and made furious swipes at the copy. Blood Falcon dash-danced back and forth to dodge each swing and round house kicked the blue haired hunter. Yang came charging in behind Neptune; only for Blood Falcon to perform a Falcon kick and set ablaze to his opponents. As they were in the air he lept up and performed his signature stomp. Hitting with so much force, Yang and Neptune's body nearly shattered the highway.

"Hahahahahahaha! You can't even protect your new comrades in this world. I'll tell them to say hello to Aerith for me."

"What did you say!?" Cloud angrily yelled.

"Oh don't worry, I'll make sure the pretty little red one suffers the same fate as well. All while torturing the kitty kat."

His brain snapped and limit Aura burst from his body. Blood Falcon charges at him with a Falcon Punch with Cloud unleashing Limit Blade Beam to blow him back. Cloud then switched fighting styles using the dual wield back blades. One had a straight edge to cut clean and the other with a saw-toothed edge to rip them apart. Cloud rushed in with Falcon still on the ground. He swiped downwards with his opponent dodging at the last minute. The Copy punched with full force barely missing Cloud's face. The mercenary was a little startled, feeling the wind rippling from his fist. He swiped again with enemy performing a backflip just at the right moment.

Pulling his sword back, he thrusted with all his might. Piercing through the air only for the enemy to deflect with a high kick.

Cloud smiled, and saw the opportunity. "Now!"

His opponent confused, Neptune brought back his weapon and swung full force! Hitting straight into Falcon's fake family jewels!  
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" Electricity sparked throughout his core, spine, and even his face. Most of all, a certain something could really fall off right about now.

"Yo Blondie! You're up!" Neptune barked.

"With Pleasure!" Yang circled around Falcon so he could see her face one last time. A tear was running down his face as he was helpless to do anything. Her semblance set her body ablaze as she got into a stance. She striked his gut with a right uppercut. Punching so hard his abs felt as if they were nonexistent. "Metsu...

"Gulp,"

She used and uppercut again with her left! This time shattering his chin! "SHORYUKEN!" She launched him straight into the air leaving his body floating in the air.

Cloud soared into the sky with his Limit on deck and performed five slashes. Using the dual blades as paint strokes he paints the Kanji KYO and reverts Blood Falcon back to his trophy status.

"Stay where you belong...back on the GameCube."

Yang walked up to the two boys and jumped on them while wrapping her arms around their neck. "Well that was a thing!"

Neptune looked towards the horizon where the other team still waged war. "Hopefully they have it better off than we did."

 _ **Phase 2: Team Blake vs Torchwick**_

Underneath the highway, our heroes set their sights on taking in Torchwick once and for all. The hulking behemoth he was piloting shook the ground with each step it took. Big as it may be, it was not enough to faze the fighters of Smash and Remnant.  
"Well well well...if it isn't my little Kitty, Monkey, and Elf. I see you brought another cute friend with you. I'll be sure to give her the same warm welcome I gave you kids."

"And I'll be sure to bring housewarming gifts !" Corrin Yelled.

"Everyone! Scatter!" Blake ordered.

Everyone jumped and danced around the mech as the machine tried its best to keep up with multiple targets. Fed up, Torchwick shot a barrage of missiles to chase down the little rodents. Blake let out multiple shadow clones to fake out the missiles. Sun leaped into the air and claps his hands; releasing brighter versions of his shadow clones to blow up the missiles on contact. Seeing that Sun was busy fighting his missiles, he shoots Sun with a plasma shot and knocks him out of the sky.

Torchwick then sets his sight on Blake, aiming the railgun at the Black Faunus.

"Not on my watch!" Corrin lunges at one of his legs with a drill arm, digging into the components and causing it to become unbalanced.

"GOD D***IT! You are just as annoying as the rest of the little punks!"

With the mech preoccupied, Link takes aim with his arrows imbued in ice. Corrin jumps off as he takes two shots freezing both the limbs.

Getting a thumbs up from Link, Sun charges in with his Clones while Blake twirls her gambol shroud. "SUN-WU-KONG!" Him and his clones chant as they all kick the mech into the air. With the mech flying helplessly, they all leap into the sky and perform a somersault kick! "SUN WUKONG BARRAGE!"

The mech crashes into the ground, causing the ground to crumble into pieces. As Torchwick fights to get up, Blake hooks him with her weapon and throws the handle to Link.

The green hero looks at her with confusion. "Wait, what am I to do?"

"I've seen the ball and chain in your room!"

"That's a ball and chain!"

"Well, he's the ball, and my weapon is the chain!"

Link pulled with all his might and to his surprise, was able to slowly spin the mech around.

Corrin ran to the far end of the battlefield to ready her fangs. Link spun with all his might until his muscles couldn't take it anymore and he throws it to Corrin while passing out on the ground afterwards. Corrin widens the mouth of her fang shot and just as the mech comes in range; she crushes the mech! Breaking down the metal piece by piece.

"Wait where is he?" Corrin asked.

"Emergency eject B****es!" Torchwick soared through the sky with the red Arwing coming in to swoop the villain in distress.

Corrin stomped the ground as hard as she could. "You've got to be kidding me."

Link watched as the fake Arwing tried to shake off Samus' gunship. "It's up to them now."

 **Phase 3: Team Ruby vs The red Arwing**

Samus and the red Arwing made swift movements around each other; shooting lasers, missiles and performing barrel rolls. Samus' system's communicator turned on automatically with the face of a wolf appearing on her dash.

"I'd expect no less from the galaxy's best bounty hunter!"

Samus smirked. "Wolf O'Donnell….still salty that you couldn't attend Smash 4?"

"Bah!" I could care less! I have Project M."

"Wolf, we all know Project M has been abandoned."

"Shut up Woman! I'll make you eat those words!"

Wolf let Torchwick take over piloting and steps outside the Arwing, hanging onto the side.

"Let's be done with this riffraff!" Marth said.

"I'm with him, shoot these fools out of the sky." Ike added.

Wolf lunges forward and hijacks the Gunship. Extending his claws and tearing in a hole.

"Oh no you don't!" Ruby transformed crescent rose into sniper mode and fired away at the furry. Wolf dodges the bullets and leaps onto the back of the Gunship.

"Shulk, and Ruby I need you to get that *sshole off my damn ship! Weiss, I need you to patch the damages with your ice to keep us from dying!"

Weiss readied her glyphs. "Just leave it to me."

"Roger!" They both bust through the hole Wolf made and confront the savage animal.

"Oh boy, I'm feasting on some youngins tonight."

"Shulk pulled out his Monado and imbued both him and his partner with the JUMP Art."

Ruby's body felt as if it was going to take off at any moment. Her body lost all concept of what body weight is. "Ok, I'm stealing that weapon."

"Sure, if you want to die."

Ruby moaned. "I never get to use anything cool."

"Enough chit chat! I'm here to get paid." Wolf announced as he shoots them with his Blaster.

Ruby and Shulk zip around as with each coming for an attack on both sides. The space pirate uses his Wolf Flash and to propel himself to slash Shulk and meteor smash Ruby. Samus hears the loud bangs on her ship as the two dropped like rocks.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"Persistent aren't we." Marth stated.

"You two! Hijack his ship! Let's see how he likes a taste of his own medicine! Robin I want you to use your magic to slow down his ship."

Ike readied his sword. "You heard the lady, let's bust some skulls."

Back to to the fight with Ruby and Shulk, they struggled to get back up after getting hit with just one of the Smash Veteran's attacks. "Look, I know Melee gave me a lot of crap for being casual. But man, Smash 4 made you soft Shulk."

Shulk looked towards Ruby and saw the huntress grabbing her stomach. "We can definitely do this Ruby! We haven't lost yet!" Shulk brought his Monado in front of him and changed the Art to BUSTER. "This is the Monado's power!"

Ruby used her semblance to zip behind the ship and aim towards wolf. With the added power of buster she tore through the skies. She created winds that would cut open flesh if anyone dared to get close.

"Seriously little girl I see you coming a mile away."  
Shulk then changed his Art to SPEED and charged straight to Wolf.

"You think a little speed is going to scare me? Better watch where you're going!" He unleashed his Fire Wolf and charged right back at the Monado boy. But at the very last minute, Shulk initiated his Vision just as Wolf came into proximity. With time coming to a crawl, Shulk slashed Wolf into the direction of Ruby. The force of the Monado was too much for Wolf to make an air dodge. With a series of flips, Ruby springs into a shooter position and fires at Wolf point blank. With a pull of the trigger Wolf is blasted into oblivion with Torchwick coming in to catch the body.

"That's it, time for extreme measures!"

Before Torchwick could react however, Ike uses his quick draw to bring him and Marth to land on the Arwing. Marth then uses his dancing blade to cut off all the vital parts of the ship including the wings and cockpit. Ike brings them back with Robin charging a spell the entire time.

"Son of a - "

"THORON"

The ship explodes leaving our heroes to believe no one could have survived. As the pieces of the Arwing crumble into pieces, none of the enemy's bodies were to be found.

Later in the evening, they all meet back up in Cloud's dormitory. Discussing the events that had occurred.

"So now we know for sure the White Fang are working with outsiders from your land." Blake sighed. "It was dangerous enough with just them."

"Seriously, those guys hit hard." Yang said clenching her fist.

The whole Smash crew looked at each other. Not uttering a word. Team RWBY couldn't help but get caught up in the tension. Weiss just about had it, and grew angrier by the second. "That's it! You guys can cut the act! You're hiding something from us aren't you?"

Ruby grabbed Weiss by the shoulders. "Weiss, we don't need to yell at them."

Weiss shoved the little red away. "Yes we do! More of us are going to get hurt if we don't!"

Robin was the first to break the silence. "We weren't expecting visitors from our own Academy."

"That explains why they hit hard…" Yang said.

"None of were. We're all shaken up right now."

"Sooo..you guys aren't like pals right?" asked.

"Those nasty guys are known as the 'Villains of the Smash Academy'." Ike replied. "Once they're outside the campus, the rules don't apply to them."

"But why come here?" Blake asked. "Why work with the White Fang?"

The Smash team looked to each other again. Even they didn't know how and why they are here in the first place."

"We'll just have to contact our headmaster to teach those boys a lesson," Samus said as she stretched and yawned.

Marth had just finished up preparing the sleeping bags for everyone for the big slumber party. "Must we make such a big fuss tonight? Obviously everyone is one edge and none of us can muster the brain power for the answer right now. I say we sleep it off for tomorrow!"

Weiss glared at Marth with the hero king dropping a sweat. She sighed and smiled at him. Although she had much more to ask, she couldn't bring herself to fight against Marth.

Cloud stared off into the distance. His eyes focused on the shattered moon of remnant. Too much was going on at once in so little time. For his team's sake, and Remnant, here's hoping Master Hand have some answers. "Something big is coming...and I don't know how to stop it."


	4. A friendly wager

Class was in session, and this time the Smashers found themselves in a mini Colosseum of sorts. The room was reminiscent of a gladiator style combat arena. The audience in the rows were being treated to a 1v4 battle between Pyrrha Nikos and team CRDL. The odds looked like they were in CRDL's favor. However, what the other side lacked in quantity, Pyrrha made up in the quality of her fighting abilities. In an effortless fashion she put them in their place in a matter of minutes.

"And that's the Match." Glynda announced. She taps away at her scroll to check what time she had left for class. "Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match." She looks around and observes the students. "Any volunteers?"

Robin raised his hand confidently. "I'd like a challenge."

She raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I would like to challenge Pyrrha."

"No offense Robin, but she is a bit out of your league. Plus, she just finished a match."

"No!" Pyrrha interrupted. "It's fine! I'd be happy to oblige."

Both fighters stand at opposite ends with Glynda standing right in the middle.

"Remind me why you're so eager?"

Robin gave her a smile. "Well miss, remember when I said I'd make it up to you for the food fight?"

The professor rolled her eyes. "Oh boy, what do you have in store young man?"

"If I lose, you can do whatever you see fit for the damages cause." He pulled out his Levin Sword and Tome through his telekinesis. "However, if I win, I get to make it up to you with a dinner for two...and take you to the dance."

The professor's face was steaming red. Though the students couldn't tell if she was blushing, or pure annoyance and anger. "As if! Pyrrha, put this novice in his place!"

"Um, yes ma'am!" Said a flustered Huntress.

They both put up a fighting stance, piercing into each other's eyes and not moving a single inch. The room was silent, but the audience was hyped with anticipation. Team RWBY and JNPR were definitely curious to see how Smash Academy's students would hold their own against their school.

The mage made the first move by leaping into the air and shooting out Elwind. Green crescent shaped blades of wind zipped through the air and made impact with the ground as Pyrrha dodged them with a series of fancy back flips. Robin descended back down and charged right towards the mistress while she was beginning to land. He lunged with Pyrrha barely lifting her shield in time to block the time. The moment to two objects clashed, Pyrrha went for a sweeping attack with her blade. Robin caught off guard with her speedy reaction jumped in the nick of time.

As soon as he landed both fighters made a flurry of attacks. The sound of metal clashed rapidly with the audience clapping and cheering in the background. Pyrrha parried the last swing Robin made and pushed him back a couple of feet. "She's pretty good. Our lady in red certainly knows how to hold her own for a student." He thought. Robin got his throwing arm ready and closed one eye to aim. "Let's see if Cloud's analysis holds true." He throws the Levin sword as hard as he could and made a mad dash towards her. Pyrrha surprised with Robin's throwing arm raised her arm and side stepped at the same time. She used her semblance in conjunction with her dodge to look as normal as possible.

Robin however, notices that his sword's angle was off and makes a confirmation of her abilities. Still shocked from the blade, He grabs her with close range telekinesis and slams her onto the ground. The audience along with Team RWBY and JNPR gasp as they've just witnessed Pyrrha being touched for the first time by any of the students here. Her body ricochet into the air with Robin pulling his bronze sword to finish with an up swipe combo. She regains her consciousness just in time to stop the Bronze sword and slow Robin's momentum.

"GODS! I should've taken a few steps further!" He thought. Realizing the error of his ways, Robin had no choice but to feel the impact of her palm slamming onto his stomach and causing him to drop like a fly. The ground cracks from the impact of his body that is still somehow intact. As she lands back down, she charges forward to pin the mage down to finish the fight before he could do more damage. Robin floats back up much to the audience's surprise and throws out an arc fire.

Pyrrha eyes opened wide as she felt the heat coming closer. She was charging too fast in desperation of finishing this quickly. She paid the consequences as the fire set her ablaze. Robin charges forward and as he got within a foot of her body, she raises her hand in hopes of pushing him back. Alas, Robin dropped his Bronze sword when she slammed him, and Robin had no other metal on his. He crouched down and summoned a purple mist that surrounded Pyrrha. "Nosferatu!"

The Red Huntress felt her body getting weaker and weaker until she could stand no more.

Glynda gawked at what just happened. She had feelings of denial during the entire set. The audience roared and cheered on for Robin. "Did he just take down the untouchable?!" Jaune jumped and nearly pulled his hair out. "Ren! We're going to need a lot of your special pancakes tonight!"

Nora smacked her fist into her palm. "He got lucky! Next time Pyrrha will break his legs! Or at least I will!"

Ren pulled both is conrads down. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. First we have to see if our friend is okay."

The bell rings which signals the dismissal of class. Glynda looks at her watch and saw time slipped through right under her nose. "That is all for today. And remember, the dance is this weekend. But you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses."

Robin stood in front of her and gave a gentleman's bow. "I'll see you at the dance, mam."

As he left with the rest of the Smash Bros, she gritted her teeth and blushed a bright pinkish red. "The nerve of some of these students!"

Outside the classroom building our three teams gather around to catch up with each other since the incident last night.

Ruby was probably the most ecstatic one in the group. "OMG, It's not fair! None of you guys never use dust!" She zips around and points to each unique weapon of the group. "Robin spits fire out of a book, all Cloud needs is those orby things, Shulk's sword makes you stronger and faster, and Samus freaking shoots missiles! MISSILES!"

Samus laughed out loud. "You do realize you have a scythe, that's also high caliber rifle. Give yourself some credit kid."

Ruby shook her head. "Samus, I would so wield my Scythe and wear your power suit at the same time! Talk about OP!"

The whole crew laughed besides a certain blonde and feline.

Pyrrha was finally able to walk without the assistance of her team. "I'm amazed Robin, to think you bested me without relying so much on your weapon."

Robin smiled. "What are you talking about? I used them to cheat you of your attention span."

She chuckled at his comment. "Right on! You're remarkable!"

A certain faunas came to crash the party as they were having their down time. Sun Wukong had just separated from his team with a confident look on his face. He broke into the crowd and went straight for Corrin. A sweat drop rolled down her face as she had the feeling of awkwardness take over. "Sun, how goes it?"

Sun fixed his shirt. "Okay, so we all have free time until Monday. So I thought: the two of us, me and you, dragon and faunas should go to the dance!"

Corrin was trying to process the randomness that was sun. "Wait, me? Dance!?"

"Yes! You! We barely have any free time but nothing's stopping us now!"

"Um...why me? Exactly?"

"Look I know this is a crack pairing, but you gotta give it chance! You hate shoes, I hate shirts. I'm carefree, your fun and caring! He zipped over to her side and put his arms around her. "Plus, I've always wanted to tango with a dragon."

Corrin's mouth curved and finally gave in to the laugh. "Okay, okay. Where's the harm in a silly little dance?"

"Whoooo! That's the spirit!" He leaped into the air and ran back to his team.

"Speaking of the dance, Yang and yours truly are in charge of running the entire thing!" Weiss proudly states.

"That's a lot to take on for two people, and here I thought our little ice queen was going to dance as well." Marth teased.

"Oh I'm not just running, believe me you'll see me on the dance floor. I have someone in mind."

"I know I do." Yang winked at Ike.

Ike smirked. "Oh you mean my boy Link!" He grabs the Hylian by the arm. "He would love to go with you!"  
Link waved nervously with Yang rolling her eyes. Link then turned his attention to Blake. "And how about you? Have anyone in mind?"

Blake glared at him and everyone else with her dead droopy eyes. "I don't have time for a stupid dance"

She pushes everyone out of her way and storms off.

Link shrugs. "I'm guessing she's been overworking herself."

"Just leave it to us, we'll get her to the dance!" Yang then pushes Ruby with her fist.

Ruby yelps as she bumps into Cloud. She gave him a shy smile to lighten the mood. He however, wasn't exactly emitting positive vibes. Intimidated, she still found a way to let a few words out. "Gulp. Soo...uhh. What are your plans for this weekend."

"I'm guessing you want to take my sword to the dance?"

Ruby's eyes lit up. "I would love to! And a certain someone bringing the sword?"

Cloud sighed. "I'll pass." He walks away in the same direction Blake run off to without hesitation.

Ruby lowers her head and kicks the ground.

"Okay! What is going on with those two!? Is it emo day?" Shulk exclaimed

Yang and Ike looked to each other with their eyes burning with determination.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Yang asked.

"You take care of the damsel in distress." He replied.

"And you take care of Mr. Grumpy Pants."

Later that night we shift our scene to a familiar room filled with everyone's favorite villains. We have Cinder sitting on her bed while sewing a black dress. Emerald is sitting on the floor reading through her scroll with Mercury laying on the ground reading a comic book.

"It looks like she wasn't invincible today."

"Our Intel from the Smash academy was spot on. She's smart, but he was smarter." Mercury replied to Cinder.

"Oh? "

"While fighting her, we noticed her semblance was polarity with the way she was able to manipulate his swords just ever so slightly to look like she was avoiding harm on her own." Emerald butt in. "He was able to figure it out in the middle of battle."

Cinder brought out her devilish smile. "Just as expected, they're way out of their league."

"You think they'll be able to take them?" Mercury asked.

"Of course, we did get them from the same academy. The ones with Roman just happen to be from the bottom of the barrel."

Mercury stretched out his body. "I can hardly contain myself with all this waiting." he yawned.

"In due time Mercury, Chaos is coming soon."


	5. Chapter 5: Dance Dance Revolution

He stormed through the halls of the living quarters. Each stomp making a statement as they hit floor. His footsteps caused the surrounding students to open their doors in fear as they had thought a Grimm had invaded their living quarters. Finally the halls stopped shaking, and the person that made all the commotion stopped where the Smashers had resided. He took in a deep breath and let out a massive amount of steam from his nostrils. He kicked the door open because opening the door like a normal person is just not dramatic enough. In his field of vision he saw an exhausted Link and Marth, with a pinned down Cloud. Cloud glared and silently raged at the blue haired knight that just busted their door, effectively adding a bill to their expenses.

"Nice work. I'll take it from here." He walked towards the fallen blonde as he cracked his knuckles.

Cloud struggled as hard as he could to escape the clutches of his teammates. "Is this your idea of a joke!?"

Ike picked up the fallen warrior with full force and caused the duo who pinned the Blonde to fall back. He held him by the collar and lifted him up high enough so that his feet didn't touch the ground. "How the mighty have fallen...to be easily pinned down and lifted like a rag doll."

Cloud grit his teeth and lifted his head to match Ike's glare. "What the hell do you guys want!? Why did you ambush me!?"

"Why did you fall to something so simple? This isn't like you! You've been distant as of late and we've been in the dark for far too long!" He gripped his collar tighter. "Why aren't you telling us what's going on?"

"I don't have to tell you anything.." Cloud said with a dark tone.

Ike's brain snapped and launched a fist so fast, wind was being torn apart. He smashed onto Cloud's jaw letting out a loud "POW!" and causing the Soldier to fly to the other side of the room.

Marth facepalmed at Ike's barbaric tactics. "Perhaps we could go about this with a more civil approach."

"Pssh! As if he would sit down and talk to us." Ike scoffed.

Cloud laid in a daze until he finally gathered the strength to somewhat lift his face off the ground. "Look, you guys are better off not knowing...I need to carry this burden on my own." His eyes shot wide open as Ike ran up to the fallen soldier and swung one of his legs backwards. The leg came in forward and this time kicking him right in the gut. A loud "bwak!" emitted from Ike's boot making contact with Cloud's body.

"Naaaggghh!" Cloud could barely keep one of his eyes open

Ike breathed heavily in frustration. A vein appeared on the side of his forehead and it only got more intense with each passing minute.

Link walked up to Cloud and picked up the battered Smasher. "Cloud, you're only complicating matters for keeping us in the dark. We're a team, aren't we? Or did our leader forget?"

He lowered his eyes towards the ground, reacting to Link's words and feeling complete darkness in his heart. "Ironwood. I...he...reminded me that I can't protect anyone here."

Ike finally calmed down after getting him to spill it out. "And you're just gonna let some random fool all of a sudden influence you?

Cloud shut his eyes as he couldn't bring himself to answer the question.

"We made sure RWBY and JNPR came back alive! We discovered The Smash Academy is leaking villains into Remnant! I say we're doing our job just fine."

Cloud gritted his teeth and scrunched up his face. "I've lost two of the closest people in my life because I was incompetent!"

Finally the truth was revealed, and it led to the rest of the team's lowered morale.

"I'm not fit to help anyone. Not my family. Not my friends. Nobody."

He saw Ike raise his arm fearing that he was going to take another hard blow. Instead Ike had placed his hand to rest on Cloud's shoulder and sighed.

"Are you listening to yourself right now? Get a grip man! Where's the real Cloud!?"

As soon as that phrase hit his eardrums he immediately snapped out of his brooding demeanor. Expressionless, he looked around to meet each teammate face to face.

Marth came to interrupt the conversation just for a little bit and held a mirror in front of Cloud's face.

"Look, we all know Tetsuya Nomura really messed up with your characterization in Kingdom Hearts. Making you some weird emo hunk or something." Ike said. "Not only that, now the entire fanbase thinks you act that way. And you're not helping with how you've been pushing us away lately and doubting your own abilities!"

The Soldier had strong feelings of unrelenting agony. At first his expression was bleak and hopeless. But with the help of his friends, he mustered up the courage to face his past and look Ike straight in the eye with his own burning newfound confidence.

Ike grinned with his expression lightening up. "The Cloud I know is kind of an a**hole, pretty laid back fellow who genuinely cares for others. Despite what happened during your journey in your own world, you've managed to get the job done. You did the best you could. All you can do is keep doing better."

For the first time in a long time, Cloud managed to smile. A genuine smile used in the beginning of the mission. Hope transformed his face, and the memories that vaguely popped in his head throughout the day vanished.

Marth gave a sigh of relief. "So gentlemen, are we going to the dance or not?"

"I think it'd be a great idea before having to get back to work. Though, we have someone that still needs recruiting." Link said in a cheerless tone.

"Well...I think I owe you guys big time. So let me take care of the rest."

Everyone smiled, knowing they finally had their true leader back.

 _ **Later in the day**_

 __Cloud had already begun his journey towards the destination. With a little help from Shulk; Ike sent a few messages to Yang to prepare to kill two birds with one stone. Yang had dragged Blake from her study place to a vacant classroom where she'd planned to meet Cloud. She opened the door and threw the weak exhausted Faunus in. Yang quickly left the two to be alone with Blake slowly getting up to see Cloud who was leaning on the podium from at the end of the classroom.

She saw him with the same stern look he gave everyone, and had his arms crossed. "If you're trying to tell me to stop going after the White Fang and go to the dance, forget it. Actually, why are you here?"

Cloud let out a deep sigh. "With the way she's acting," he thought, "It's no wonder my teammates were tired of my crap." Cloud took a good look at the girl. Baggy eyes, and dark circles, a pale clammy complexion, and the bad case of a pissy attitude. "I know what you're going through. I get it, but you're going to destroy yourself before you even have a chance to throw a punch at the White Fang."

Blake frowned and clenched her fist in frustration. Deep inside she was trying really hard not to blow up on him. "I know everyone wants me to stop, but we don't have much time! And I seem to be the only one that realizes that!"

"I'm not telling you to stop. But listen to my story, and hopefully this will ease you a little."

Blake gave him an expressionless stare. Too tired to make any other expression, too tired to try and argue. "Fine, let's hear it."

Cloud closed his eyes, and then looked back at her. This was the first time someone was going to know his personal background outside of anyone from the Smash Academy who looked through his logs in the Smash database. "When I was younger, I've always wanted to be part of an elite force known as SOLDIER. I was a nobody then, and being in SOLDIER made you the talk of the town. Though several trials and training sessions later, I didn't quite make the cut and I was but a mere pathetic grunt." The memories in his head play an image Nibelheim.. "We had a mission that was located in my hometown. However, I couldn't show my face, and decided to hide behind my helmet while I trailed behind the real SOLDIERS. One being a good friend named Zack, and the other whom everyone idolized and was the best of the best. Sephiroth." The memory changes from a peaceful looking town to a town engulfed in flames. The memory was so realistic, Cloud had to open his eyes back open.

Blake was taken aback from Cloud's reaction. He wasn't sweating much, but she found it odd considering it wasn't hot nor was he doing anything strenuous.

"Unfortunately, my hometown happened to be the place where he discovered that he was not normal. In fact, he discovered that he was created through a scientific experiment by none other than the company I worked for. Shinra."

Blake gulped and her face showed concern. It sounded horribly outlandish. But then again, these guys were outlandish to begin with. From what she could gather from his tone, it was no joke.

"After making the discovery, he destroyed my entire village. Setting everything on fire wherever he walked. Zack made an attempt to try and stop him, but the skill gap was wide. I only mustered up the courage to temporarily take him down when he injured my childhood friend who resided in Nibelheim." The scenery in his head changed to a darker atmosphere. This time, with him and Zack escaping the village. "Shinra wasted no time taking two helpless employees and conducting experiments on us. We were stuck in test tubes like lab rats until Zack somehow managed to free us. "Cloud's memories started to intensify as it transitioned over to a darker setting. One with a Cliffside and the huge city of Midgar on the horizon. "Shinra was hot on our tails, and we almost made it back to the big city to start fresh. Unfortunately, I was helpless and too weak to fight, which led to the first death of people I held close to me." The emotions had begun to consume our beloved hero. He grabbed his arm and clenched as tight as he could. "He fought an entire platoon alone, and when I came crawling to him we've only had a few moments to exchange words before he passed on his legacy to me: The Buster Sword, and all the memories it carries with it."

Blake had felt a sudden knot in her chest. What was a blank expression turned into a concerning one. "Cloud...I don't think I can handle anymore of this…"

Cloud gave her a reassuring smile, trying his best to fake that he was ok. "Trust me, it's worth it in the end." He focused into his memory bank once more and a girl vividly appeared in his head. "We were in hot pursuit of Sephiroth, making sure he didn't take anymore lives with him. Of course, that didn't go as planned. The second special person in my life whom I had met by chance throughout the entire journey was praying in an altar." A man in white hair descends from above with a girl in red praying unknowing of her fate. Cloud let's out a grunt and drops to his knees.

Blake rushes over to him and grabs him by the arm. "You can stop! Please, you're worrying me!"

Cloud regained his composure and continued on. "Sephiroth temporarily took me over, and tried to use me to Kill Aerith! I resisted, but he...he got….he…" Sadness clouded his features, his face burned from holding everything back.

The Faunus began to tear up, she grabbed ahold of him and squeezed as tight as she could.

He managed to get back up slowly, and placed one hand on her shoulder. "It was only recently that the memories started to flood back up. Trying to remind me that I can't even protect those who are close to me." His expression this time hardened into the opposite of what it was earlier. "But I can't let those failures control me! I was afraid of you going on that investigation because I was afraid that something was going to happen to you guys! This time Cloud placed both hands onto her shoulders, and gave the most confident look he gave all semester. "I know you won't stop fighting! I haven't stopped fighting! But I had to realize I'm just one person. Blake, you're just one person. Give your body a break."

Her eyes began to flood until tears were finally running down her face. She buried her face onto his chest. Trying to hide the embarrassing water works that leaked.

Cloud smiled at a job well done. Finally, venting out his past ghost lifted the world off his shoulders. He looked up and gave a long sigh of relief. "It's over…" he thought.

"We'll get the White Fang, and anyone from the Smash academy dumb enough to join them. And I'll be right behind you, every step of the way."

 _ **The night of the Dance**_

We arrive in a ballroom, decorated with streamers that hung through glass chandeliers. Pink and blue balloons were everywhere, students from many schools dressed themselves in suits and fancy dresses are dancing to the beautiful melody. Everyone from RWBY, JNPR and the Smash teams were accounted for; including Blake. Link spun Blake around as she laughed and enjoyed herself with her Hylian hero.

Ruby, Yang and Ike all stood by each other, watching the two having a blast.

Ike and Yang looked to each other and both went in for a high five. "All's well that ends well." Ike said.

Yang giggled. "Yeah, for the most part."

Ruby was fumbling in her stilts. Uncomfortable with her current attire and wondering how in the world do girls even wear these things. She was even more uncomfortable being in a big crowd all by herself with no dance partner. "Sooo..do you guys want to hang out for the rest of the dance?"

"Sorry Ruby, I'm booked for tonight." She said as the blonde winked at the swordsman.

"What!?"

"Come on Ruby, there's bound to be someone here for you! Everyone is just spread out is all. Get away from the punch bowl for a while and enjoy yourself." Ike said.

And just like that the duo disappeared into the crowd. Leaving the Little Red to fend for herself. "Sigh...punch bowl it is…"


	6. Chapter 6: WolfPack

Link lifted Blake with ease and spun her around playfully as if he was holding a child. Blake couldn't help but burst into laughter. For the first time in a long time, she was finally letting go of her worries. Even if it was just for a weekend, it was enough to refresh her spirits. Link led her slowly onto the ground and they step with each other to the rhythm of the music. Her eyes twinkled with her mouth curving into the biggest smile. Link couldn't help but fall to how cute the Faunus could get ,and responded with an uncontrolled smile of his own. They both observed each other. Admiring the finer details. Her eyes which were the color of amber complimented the elegant purple dress she had picked out for the occasion. His chiseled features could pierce into her chest and steal her heart at a moment's notice.

Needless to say, they were having the time of their life. With the song ending and transitioning to another song, it gave the duo some time to catch up.

Blake was the first to break the trance. "I'm honestly shocked that you would dance with me despite what I put you through."

Link chuckled at the thought. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Well you went on a wild goose chase when I ran away."

"That's in the past."

"And then putting you in danger when we infiltrated the White Fang."

Link gave a dismissing gesture. "It wouldn't be the first time this fellow brings himself closer to death's door."

She gave a frustrated sigh. "And then there was the whole…"

"Blakey thing?" Link finished.

She rolled her eyes. "Is that what you guys are calling it?"

Link grinned. "There is no one else like you Blake."

Her eyes narrowed into the shape of daggers that pierced through Link's calm and collected nature. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult."

Link scratched his head. "Well….I mean..OW!"

She had kicked him in the shin as subtle as she could, but with all the power she could put into those heels. "Oops."

Link was bouncing on one foot as he held his other leg in pain. "One has to wonder how others live with you!"

The corners of her mouth turned down. "Oh? I can cause another accident." She said seductively. She walked closer with Link backing up as fast as he could.

He accidently bumps into another student and get's pushed back towards Blake. "Gah!"

"Hey watch it!" The student yells.

Blake's eyes widened as Link came in faster than she could think. Blake held her arms in front of her to brace for the impact of the Hylian with Link grabbing her, hoping for the maiden to stop him from falling. Almost falling backwards, Blake managed to balance the both of them. The two were now closer than ever however, with Link holding her waist and Blake unknowingly having her arms wrapped around the hero's shoulder. Her eyelids drooped, as she observed him once more. This time, with just a few inches away from his face. She pressed her lips together, trying to settle her nerves. His face reddened as her cheeks flushed with pink. A slow piano piece played in the background as they danced to the slower tempo. As big as a turnout it was, to them, they were the only one's there. The crowd around them grew silent, with only the music to accompany them.

They could feel each other's heartbeat as they continued to dance. At this moment, their dancing was on autopilot. Their bodies did the work while their heart and minds did all the talking. Although no one uttered a word, they were not needed. The expressions they read from each other, the body language, and the way they gazed into each other was all they needed. No one could come up with an explanation in words anyways, so why bother? The way he looked at her was alluring. She wondered if he knew how attractive this man was. Despite his gullible nature. She wondered what was going through his mind right now. He was always a hard person to read due to little input, but when he did give one, they were the most genuine responses she would get out of anyone she's ever met.

She was at a point of no return, and as hard as she tried to suppress them, she could no longer deny that she was really fond of him. She bit her lip with Link swallowing as subtle as he could. The feelings within him were something he never quite experienced before. Although he was always alone on his adventures, it was moments like these that made him appreciate the bond of others.  
Blake was feeling lightheaded. This was too much for her to handle all at once. "I..uh..do you get some punch?"

Link snapped out of his trance for the lovely Faunus, only to awkwardly nod with a crooked smile.

Just before they could separate however, another pair of dancers behind Blake bump into her. Their faces were already a mere few inches away, and there was nothing saving their face from meeting each other. The scene ran in slow motion as Blake eyes widened with her face coming ever closer to him. As experienced as he was, there was nothing he could do to stop it. Her mouth finally closed upon his, shocking his brain into a near blackout and sending thousands of volts from her lips. The feeling of pleasure went through her spine, down to her toes, and back again unto him. For what felt like an eternity they finally parted. She breathed heavily, her faced flushed full on red from what she'd just experienced.

Link stood still with his brain still trying to wake him up from his stupor. He shook his head and looked at her with a worried expression. "I...I didn't mean to..-!

Blake rushed towards him to press her lips against his and silence him. Several seconds passed before they parted once more. "Blake….." he whispered.

He was taken aback by what he was witnessing. A blissful girl who was holding her arm behind her back and blushing harder than any girl could. Her eyes point to the lower corner of the dance floor with her mouth curving into a smile. "Sorry…"


	7. IceEmblem, RadiantBee, SkyRose

_**Editor's note: I would like to thank everyone for their patience. I deeply apologize my hiatus. After the semester ended, I went in immediately for my summer internship. And sharpened my Skills in Java and HTML5. Many vacations later, I've finally come back. Don't worry, I still plan on finishing this till the very end of RWBY(though I got a lot of catching up to do.) Only interruptions from here on are Super Smash Con and attending a Linkin Park memorial. Without further ado, here is chapter 7!**_

Here we have our beloved Blonde Goofball Jaune Arc accompanying right beside the lonely Red Rose. The disgruntled look on Jaune's face and blank expression on Ruby told the whole story for each other without the use of much words.  
"Right beside the punch bowl...classic." Jaune said.

"Yup." She took a small sip of her punch.

"Jaune turned to her and raised his eyebrow. "Uh, I could've sworn you had a date tonight?"

Ruby faked a laugh as hard as she could. All she could muster was a soft weak pathetic chuckle. "Had? Try never."

Jaune let out the "ewhg". "So I'm guessing….that it didn't..?"

"He wouldn't have been interested in this dance anyways. Even if he's is in a good mood."

"Ah, Well if it makes you feel any better. Me and Weiss didn't go as planned. She has the hots for Marth, and I mean...who wouldn't?"

Ruby blinked at him a couple of times. "What are you talking about?"

Jaune slumped halfway towards the ground. "I mean, just look at him! Perfect blue hair, a slender figure, and a royal tone. He could wear your clothes and look better than the girl who he stole his clothes from."

Ruby grabbed the boy and shook him violently from the shoulder to snap him of his woes. "Jaune! Weiss doesn't have a date." She points to the girl in white who was helplessly trying to tend a drooping flower. "She told me she had too much to focus on to worry about boys."

Sounds of laughter caught Jaune's attention to Sun spinning around Corrin, Samus putting Neptune in a chokehold, and Marth conversing with Blake and Link.

Jaune narrowed his eyes. "Hold my punch…" he said in a low growl.

Ruby was left to fend for herself as he stormed off, awkwardly drinking from his cup without any regrets of his germs attacking her.

He made his way over to the pretty boy when suddenly his eye is hooked by Pyrrha's graceful red dress. Mesmerized, he follows her instead.

Link and Blake finally separated a feet apart from each other to focus more on Marth.

"Marth, you were the least person I expected to go to the dance alone." Blake stated. "I mean Ike was a no brainer, Link practically begged me to go."

Link let out a grunt as he was taken aback by her comment.

"Cloud...well I doubt he's the dancing type. But you…" she scanned his and Link's attire. Link explained to her earlier what they were wearing was known as the Kingsglaive attire. A black uniform with a silver horn on its hood, purple ribbons on its back, and pelts of blue-gray fur on its left sleeve.

"Seriously for someone so dressed up, I thought you and Weiss were going to steal the spotlight."

Marth's stomach dropped. "Uhh..me and the miss are just good friends. Nothing more."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Aren't we all?"

Jaune finally came back down to the dance and marched his way towards Marth.

Marth saw Jaune and saw it as opportunity to change the subject. "Speak of the Gods, our fellow Jaune has finally come to join us!" He waved to the blonde only to slow down as soon as he saw the menacing face.

Jaune grabbed Marth by the wrist and squeezed as hard as he could. "We need to talk!" And just like that, he pulled Marth with the Strength of Cloud and carried him effortlessly as if he was carrying the Buster Sword. Marth was afraid and impressed at the same time as Jaune carried him up the stairs. Finally as they reached the balcony, Jaune placed Marth down as if he were trying to stick his legs into the concrete.

The prince dusted himself off and shook the shock from his legs. "What's wrong? And how may I help?"

Arc was fuming halfway at this point and steam was emitting from his ears. "Don't play dumb with me pretty boy!"

Taken by surprise, Marth held his hands in front of him. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"How could you turn her down!? Her! Of all people!"

"...I beg pardon?"

"Weiss!"

Our confused prince suddenly had the weight of that name on his shoulders. "...She doesn't deserve the things I would do to her."

Jaune's eyes widened and the fumes had calm down. "What are...what are you talking about?"

They stared at each other without blinking. The air around them had become dead silent. Not even the loud music could break the atmosphere they had created.

"Marth, you're like one of the nicest guys I've ever met. Besides roasting your teammates from time to time."

Marth brushed his hair along with the wind. "Even so, I cannot allow her to get attached to someone like me.

The confronter scratched his head furiously and let out a grunt. "I don't understand! Don't give me that crap! I kno - we all know that you guys have gotten closer since the beginning of enrollment! Are you just going to throw it all away?"

He walked towards the prince and grabbed him by the collar. "I don't buy it one bit!" He was breathing heavily after lashing out so hard.

His words struck him right at the heart. Ever since they had been here they had been keeping secrets upon secrets. Marth was tired. His calm and collected demeanor was starting to fade. He knew he had to keep the inhabitants from knowing about their intergalactic travels to keep world order, but it was starting to take a toll on him. Had he not gotten so close to them, maybe things would have been easier. "Promise me…." he whispered.  
Jaune narrowed his eyes. "Pardon?"

He grabbed the hand that was grasping his collar and forced his strength onto Jaune. Forcing the blond to submit and let him go. "Promise me you won't tell anyone."

He gulped. "Are you part of some cult!?"

Marth shook his head. "No, but I'm sure you are aware that I'm not from around these parts."

"Well yeah, don't see too many people larping the dark ages in public."

"What?"

"Nevermind. So I'm assuming you're from some foreign land that's not on the map of Remnant?"

"Not bad Mr. Arc. Though, there's a reason why it's not on the map."

Jaune cocked his head sideways. "If you're embarrassed about coming from a no name land, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind. I don't think she's that shallow."

"Jaune, do you really think, distance between continents would stop me despite coming all the way here to beacon?"

Arc let out a smile. "Well I mean, you're making a pretty big out of this, Soooo...Yeah!"

Marth stared at him long and hard. Jaune stared back and came to a sudden conclusion as soon as his light bulb popped out. "You're not from our world!"

"I didn't think y-"

"You must be an alien!"

"Gods! I would never associate, I mean technically-"

"Oh my God! You were summoned by orbs!"

Marth dropped to his knees and nearly pulled out his hair. "What in heaven's name are you on about!?"

Jaune dug into his pocket and whipped out his scroll. "You know, like in the game heroes! You get these different colored orbs, and you spend orbs to summon heroes from other worlds."

Marth started to pinch his forehead to get rid of the ever growing headache. "The last thing I need is random people on their phones summoning me away from my kingdom. I doubt that will ever happen."

He let out a big sigh. "Jaune, please promise you'll keep this a secret."

"Of course, but… is it really that big of a deal that you can't keep a close relationship with Weiss?"

He turned away from Jaune. "I am Prince Marth of Altea, or as many would like to call me...the Hero King."

Jaune let out a whistle. "That's a big deal. You sure got Weiss beat in the royalty department."

"And once I'm done here, I have to go back to my kingdom to protect my people."

Jaune eyes grew as wide as the moon. "Wait a minute, are all of you…?"

Marth couldn't jeopardize the others. He scrambled into his brain to try and find a loophole. "If you're wondering about the others, I don't have an answer."

Jaune had his heart pounding out of his chest. The discovery had him pumped and excited, and at a dance party of all places. But he shook his head and focused on the task at hand. He realized he had to give up on Weiss and fight for the greater good, and bring the Royal Ice together. He took a deep breath rest his hand on the prince's shoulder.

"You like her a lot don't you?"

The question threw our Prince off guard. "Yes, I mean she can be headstrong especially towards other people and teammates; but I have built a special bond with her unlike with anyone I've ever met."

Juane then put both his hands on the knight's shoulder and turned him around to look him in the eye. He gave him the most intense stare with fire emitting from his pupils. "Then stop making excuses and go to her!"

"But-"

"Enough excuses man! If you really like her you'd do everything you can to keep that bond strong no matter the obstacle!"

"Marth started to shake, he clenched his fist and began to heat up. "He's right", he thought. "I can't believe I was willing to give up so easily." That's what one side of his mind was saying anyways. There was a strong opposition from the other side telling him to forget any relationship he had in this world and finish the mission.

Just as he was about to be swallowed up by doubt, Jaune held his fist in front of our beloved prince. "Go get her."

Marth was taken aback as he felt a familiar aura. All he could do was smile, give a fist bump and walk back down to the party. "You know, your confidence reminds me of Cloud's when he's in a good mood."

Jaune stood there shocked and flustered at his comment. "I'm not quite there yet." He had the proudest grin on his face. Knowing he grew even if ever so slightly. "Alright, now to end this with a bang."

Jaune had ran all the way back to the dorms as fast as possible. He pushed his legs off the stairs as hard as he could, maneuvered every corner as swift as a bumblebee, and finally sprinted down the hall like a Grimm hunting down its prey. He finally reached his destination, drenched in sweat and wheezing heavily. "Boy, all that training with Link and Pyrrha definitely paid off."

He regained his composure and straightened his posture. He was feeling a little nervous, but he needed this. He knocked on the door and wasn't planning on stopping until the door opened. After all the obnoxious knocking the door finally opened and there stood a grumpy Cloud.

"This better be important."  
Although he gave off a nasty aura, it didn't phase Jaune one bit as he leaned over to his ear and told him his plan for the party.

Cloud's face shriveled in disgust. "Hell no!"

"Aw come on, Don't be like that!"

Cloud facepalmed. "Take a good look at me! Do you really think I'm the dancing type? Not only that, that idea is just wrong!"

Jaune shoved himself onto the Soldier and pulled on his shirt with a desperate look. "I have to do this! An Arc never goes back on his word! Besides, you were the one who suggested this in the last volume!"

"Gulp." Our Hero's face became hot red, and started to feel uncomfortable tingles throughout his body. He hugged himself to keep himself from shaking, but then his stomach began to give him problems as he felt a giant pit. He shook his head no, but Jaune kept giving him the sad puppy dog eyes. The more he shook, the more pathetic Jaune's face would get. All Cloud could do was give a sigh of defeat. "Fine," he said with resent.

"YES!" Jaune leaped as high as he could. "Two birds with one stone!" He thought to himself.

Cloud, looking more discouraged than usual had a thought kick in the back of his mind. "So...where are we getting these?"

Jaune stood confidently. "Right this way!"

And just like that, the plan began to end the party with a bang.

Back at the party on the second floor, we hover over our first couple leaning over the rail to see the success of the party. Our feisty blonde in her snow white dress inched her way closer to the brawn mercenary and grabbed him by the arm.

"I can't believe he had it in him," Yang said.

"Who's him?" Ike asked.

"Your boy Link. He's a Yang man now. Blake's not exactly an easy cat to tame."

"Psh. I'm pretty sure that kiss was an accident."

"Aw come on, a kiss is still a kiss. And it wasn't just any kiss."

Ike had turned away from that couple to focus onto another. This one had caught him by surprise. "Hey, I thought your friend didn't have a date to the dance?"

Yang looked into the direction he was facing and saw Marth swinging the Ice Queen. "She didn't...or so I thought."

Ike smiled, and turned towards her. "Well look at you, I say the party was a success. Nice work out there."

She giggled as her face began to blush ever so slightly. "Thanks, but the party isn't quite a success just yet."

"What do you mean?"

She slowly reached over to the side of his face. The sharp complexion he had was enough to turn on sparks inside her body. It was a different feeling than looking at random hot guys around the school. Although her body was listening, it was taking forever to get to where she wanted. Or maybe her impatient nature was getting the best of her. She let out quick quiet breaths as she came in ever so slowly. It didn't help that he continued to stare at her as she got closer. That slight blush turned into a bright hot pink. Lucky for her, the confident fire cracker insider her managed to take a part of her and she was ready for the kill. Ike closed his eyes and braced his lips for impact.

"HI GUYS!" An annoying voice called out.

The couple immediately had shivers crawl up their spines and and turned to face the evil menace that dared interrupt their moment.

Ruby took sight of the uncomfortable duo as she made her way to them. She felt a slight unease herself as her older sister erupted into flames upon seeing her. Her flames grew more fierce and her eyes were full of bad ideas upon closer inspection. Ruby mustered up the courage to crack a smile and a weak laugh.

Ruby! Why are you here? Go to your boyfriend back at the punchbowl!" Yang angrily growled.

"He ditched me entirely with his drink! And just because I harvested some germs, that doesn't make Jaune my boyfriend!"

Ike bursted into laughter. "Sorry to interrupt ladies, but I think Ruby is right! She has a girlfriend!"

Yang and Ruby stared at Ike with their eyebrows raised.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Yang asked.

"Yeah! As far as we know, white rose is not confirmed!" Ruby blurted out.

Ike laughed even harder than before. His stomach was starting to cramp up so bad he started to tuck in his arms and cry. The two girls were fed up with waiting and went over to survey the dance floor. The whole dance room was in a fit of laughter. So loud, you could probably hear it across campus. The sisters were confused as to why everyone was laughing so much until they noticed the crowd's general direction of where they were looking. They took sight of the real crash of the party in the form of Jaune wearing a white dress with a blue ribbon.  
"There's the white to your rose." Yang said.

Carrying him was a beautiful maiden who wore a shimmering purple dress. She had elegant layered spikes with ponytails to the side adorned with red ribbons. She wore a purple choker that also had a red ribbon attached to match her outfit. She carried him all the way to a red maiden who was standing at the center of the dance hall.

Pyrrha finally turned around to see what the commotion was all about and her whole face turned pale as she went into a shock.

Jaune hopped off and grabbed his escort by the arm. "Now I know what you're thinking. No he's not my girlfriend."

"He…?" She asked.

"I mean, Claudette here is my escort...to the real date of the dance." He stammered.

With every second her smile grew wider and wider. Then that smile turned into a giggle until finally she bursted into a fit of laughter. She hugged her stomach trying to control her composure. "And who is this lucky lady?"

"Well who do you think I dressed up for?"

"Jaune, you didn't have to!"

"Hey, an Arc never goes back on his word." He looks back at Claudette who had daggers floating around his body. "I have to do a proper send off for our fair maiden."

Pyrrha giggled some more. "Please do."

"I'll kill you." said the angry dagger lady.  
"Yo chillax! It's almost over! Just keep sticking to the plan!" He then pointed towards the d.j. and shouted from the top of his lungs. "Aye d.j.! Pump it up!  
The d.j. stopped the current song and switched over to 'Persona - Dancing all night'.

With the d.j. Signalling the thumbs up. Jaune and Claudette went to town. Following the rhythm of the music. They both shuffled their legs and waved their arms side to side. The way they dance was similar to that of male idols and hip-hop flare. Then they each both performed a backflip with Jaune doing the wave with his arms and lowering himself to the ground only using his knees and balancing. Claudette started elegantly performing hand gestures and made various shapes with her arms.

The crowd roared at their dance skills and had totally forgotten that a man was wearing a dress to the dance. Claudette then ran full speed ahead towards Jaune with while he held out his hand out for his purple maiden. Claudette stepped off Jaune's hands and leaped full force into the air and started to spin violently. A gust of wind and roses surrounded her body until a figure slammed down to the dance floor. The crowd gasp as they saw the figure stand up slowly with the spotlight hanging over them.

"OH MY GOD IT'S CLOUD!" Yang shouted.

"WHAT!?" Ruby chimed in.

He wore a Kingly Raiment which was made up a black suit, accompanied by a black jacket that doubled as a cape. The jacket was adorned with some gold on the shoulders and a gold chain connecting the collar of the jacket. He also had a gold knee brace just for extra measure.

Girls in the crowd whistled and screamed at our Blonde hero. Not even acknowledging that he crossdressed not too long ago.

With a rose held by his lips, he leaps towards the second floor and landed onto the rail where Ike, Yang and Ruby stood. He jumped down and walked towards our Huntress in red. He grabbed the rose from his lips and handed it over to an already flustered Ruby.

Yang tugged on Ike's arm and signaled him to follow. "Come on, let's go someplace hopefully no one can crash." She said with a wink.

Ike nodded and the couple left the other two to themselves.

Ruby had to shake everything off to make sure she was seeing things right. She scanned his entire body slowly and thoroughly.

"No, I'm not a girl." He blurted.

She giggled. "You looked good Ms. Cloud."

He sighed. "It was all Jaune's idea."

"Are you sure it wasn't the idea of going back one more time?" She said with a coy attitude.

"Do not bring this up. Ever."

She mustered up everything she could to make sure she didn't drop to the floor laughing. Slips of small chuckles could still be heard.

"I'm serious."

She finally stopped to gasp for air and stand straight again. "You know, this would have been easy if you didn't show up in dress. Speaking of which why did you come? I thought you didn't like parties?"

"I don't."

"Aaaaand yet you came with a rose, and made some sick dance moves and came all the way to the second floor without using the stairs."

"Ahem, all Jaune's idea."

She made the hardest grin. "To show off and crash the party? That sounds like a Yang thing to do."

Cloud smirked. "Don't you know? He's a Yang man now."

She peeked over Cloud to see Jaune tripping over and falling between Ms. Goodwitch and Robin. "Suuurree."

They both laughed with Ruby throwing quick jabs at him with our hero returning the favor with pokes and playful shoulder punches. Since he had came she didn't stop smiling for a minute. Her body felt as if it were weightless and she had so much energy to take on the world. After the constant teasing and play hitting, they've calmed down and just stood there without a care in the world.

For the first time in a long time, Cloud strife had finally felt a moment of peace after being in a constant feeling of hell and despair. The Smash team was having a great time, they had a day of rest, and the fruit punch wasn't half bad.

She felt an alluring aura from him, and the longer she stared at him, the deeper she fell into that abyss. Try as she might, she couldn't quite figure out what she was experiencing. Her chest was warm, and didn't even notice she was moving closer towards him. Her body had become numb to her surroundings. Even the music was beginning to drown out.

Cloud noticing something was off dove in slightly to catch her as she made a clumsy attempt at a hug. "You ok?"

"I am now…" She wrapped her arms tightly around him. Her senses went into overdrive. She took in his scent, felt his heartbeat, and embraced his warmth. She looked up towards him, both giving the same deadpan look. Neither knowing what to do next.

"So..how important am I to you?" She asked with a shy tone.

"You're a little bit more important than my sword. Just a little." He joked.

"That again?"

"Why'd you ask?"

"You've haven't been the same- I mean now you are but it wasn't until after the mission…" She took a deep breath to get her words together. "That we finally got the usual Grump Strife. I thought we were going to stop being friends."

"Heh, kinda too late for that. Dove in too deep saving your butt from Torchwick."

"Oh please, I could have taken him on myself."

They both smiled once more. Her face began to ache from smiling so much. He leaned in to press his forehead against hers, catching her by surprise. At that moment, all they could hear was each other's breathing. She had her mouth slightly open, thinking she could anticipate what might happen next. After all, no matter how dense a person may be, it's the little things that give you away.


	8. Chapter 8: Infiltration

A very special thank you to COOL1nate for getting me out of my slump. For getting the creative spark back in me. Without further ado, CLIM: Volume 2 - Chapter 8

"Tch, while our 'heroes' are out playing prom night, I get stuck with babysitting and recon." On top of a roof of a medium sized building in front of the party was a man not in uniform from the school, nor any garbs from this world. He took a knee and reached into his pocket to grab a pack of cigs. "Might as well enjoy myself too while I'm at it. Can't let them have all the fun."He took out a lighter and set his cigarette ablaze, taking in the sweet pleasures of tobacco and exhaling the sweet spicy aroma of menthol.

"Not sure about the school's smoking policy, but we'll just pretend it's one of those dust things and hopefully they'll let it slide." He pressed two fingers against his ears and a radio call began to ring inside his head.

Bleep! Bleep!

Bleep! Bleep!

"This is Fox, go ahead."

"This is Snake, can you hear me?"

"Loud and Clear Snake, how's the view down there."

"Like a Scene from one of those awful teen movies. Might be too much for me to handle. Maybe I should abort the mission."

"Negative, I'm pretty sure Master Hand wouldn't let us come back empty handed."

Snake grumbled. "And if I go AWOL?"

"Well consider yourself a member of the League of Villains and kiss that sweet chance of getting into the next Smash goodbye."

The man lurking in the shadows smirked. "Speaking of which, mind filling me in on who left the Smash Academy?"

"Every nasty no good trouble maker you see on the roster of Smash, we don't know what they're planning, but with that many bad guys running around in a world they don't belong too, it's nowhere close to good."

"And with that kind of party, this world really has its hands full. Ganondorf, Bowser, Jr., King Dedede, Wolf, and Wario. Real nasties we're trying to apprehend."

"And that's not even including the cameos from assist trophies."

Snake notices something in the distance that prompts him to bring out his binoculars. All his important senses were tingling, and his sight and hearing sharpened. He sees a girl jumping from roof to roof in the bright moonlight. "I think we got a bad guy on our hands."

"What do we got? Is it anyone from the Academy?"

Snake threw his cigarette towards the ground and proceeded to tail the woman. "Dunno, might just be a petty thug, but capturing her might give us some good intel just in case."

"No petty thug just waltz into a prestigious school full of Huntsman and Huntresses."

"Bingo", Snake jumped off the roof he was on. He braced for impact and rolled forward to take the fall and sprinted after her.

She came to a halt and hid behind a stone wall. Snake quickly leaped into a nearby bush to get a better look at the person. Snake took notice of her Catwoman like getup and tried to take in as much detail as he could despite her mask being in the way. There was a guard in front of the building she was trying to get into, who was oblivious to the swift movement she made to the other side. She quickly came out of hiding and came up from behind to stealth chop the pool soul. Out cold, she drags him to a nearby bush and proceeds to infiltrate inside Beacon tower.

"I think I'm in love", Snake said aloud.

"Easy there cowboy, you don't even know what she looks like behind the mask." Fox interrupted.

Snake left the bushes and basked himself with the cover of night. "True, but you gotta be in pretty good shape to move that fast, turn the lights off a grown man and hide the body so elegantly."

"How does that override the fact you don't know what her face looks like?"

"I'm appreciating her other assets."

"Ass...-Wait!? Where are you exactly?"

Snake was under the shadows right behind our feline dressed friend while she casually made her way towards three Guard's protecting the elevator.

"Excuse me, no one is allowed in this area." Said the Guard in front.

She pressed on, shrugging off any warnings he just made.

"STOP!"

She rushes in as the guard is taking shots at the aggressor. Her speed made it as if the bullets phased through her, striking the guard's face in the progress. Another guard charges in to help his fellow comrade, but she was one step ahead and made quick work of him by using the gun held by the soldier she struck, sending guard number 2 flying back. She then finishes the first guard by flipping over him and using her momentum and his weight to hurl him straight towards a guard rail. The two remaining guards charged straight ahead with their batons ready in hand. The lady dodged both effortlessly like it was some sort of dance routine and quickly drawn out two black blades out of thin air with some fire elemental dust. She twirled her blades with much grace, cutting down the third guard with ease. The last remaining guard made a valiant effort, but she was much too skilled to fall for any blind attacks and blocked every single strike. He made an attempt to make one last kick, but was countered and she quickly finished him off with a sweeping kick and two fist that made a crushing impact to his rib cage. That last description definitely knocked him out cold.

"I hear a lot of noise out there snake. What's your status?"

Snake crouched down behind a flower pot and hunched over as much as he could. "I'm fine but the guards here are taking a serious beating. If she were in Smash, she'd basically be a high teir Dark Pit with a better moveset."

"I'll be sure to relay the message to let him know you said that."

Snake smirked, "Go for it, maybe Master Hand will actually make him a pallet swap and give the character slot to someone who deserves it."

"Ouch."

Snake peeked over and saw the Woman walk confidently into the elevator with two guards in. Shocked and appalled was a serious understatement to how they felt.

Snake tapped his chest four times in the shape of a cross and made his way for the elevator to wait his turn.

The elevator reached the top floor, and the bell began to rang. The Woman walked out with a scroll in her hand leaving behind two guards passed out on the ground.

"This is Handy," she said. The guard's scroll had everything she needed to bypass any security measures to do as she pleased. The top floor had a green hue that shined ever so slightly. The room was surrounded by giant monitors, similar to an office space without the cubicles. In the middle, was the central computer waiting to be hacked into. While tapping away on the keys she heard a little static creep up in her ear canal.

"A party guest is leaving."

"Which one?" She closed her eyes in annoyance.

"Ironwood."

"I guess the General had enough fun for one night." A 2nd voice said on the walkie. "Should we intervene?"

"No, we're done here." The Woman made plans to leave ASAP until she heard the elevator bell rang once more.

Nothing appeared out of the ordinary until she glanced down to see a brown cardboard box.

Bleep! Bleep!

Bleep! Bleep!

"So slippy helped hack into the security cameras of Beacon, and the first thing I see is the dumbest idea I've ever witnessed."

"Hmmmm..looks like we got ourselves a party crasher." The women said with a smug. She took her time making her way to the box. Building the suspense for herself when she finally kills the fool using a 5-year old's hide'n seek tactic.

"Do I need to go over this again? The cardboard box is a very important tool for infiltration missions. It's ideal for fooling the enemy.

Fox watches the live footage in horror as she eases in ever so close. "Snake! This is insane!"

"Fox, I'm not exaggerating when I say the success of the mission hinges on how I use this cardboard box."

The woman forms a bow with three arrows pulled back, ready to skewer through even the most hardy of flesh.

"But in the end, a cardboard box…"

She unleashes all three at once, making the signature 'shing!' She smiles and kicks the box over, only for her smile to soon disappear.

"A cardboard box is only made of paper."

Snake leaves the comfort of the shadows to put her in a choke hold! She elbows him multiple times as hard as she could, but the man would not budge. She runs up the elevator wall to escape his grasp and get the jump from behind. His reflexes were too fast, and he quicked turned around to kick the woman right in the gut! The agonizing blow made her stagger in place. This gave Snake a chance to finish this off. He quickly came in for three jabs: Two hooks and a roundhouse kick, to his surprise all blocked.

She still had fight in her, and they made quick exchanges of CQC resulting in loud fist to fist impact! She quick-stepped back to charge fiery crystallized shards to shoot at him. Snake, taking no chances to dodge point blank grabbed her wrist with the shards shooting everywhere else in the room. Sounds of windows shattering, electronics exploding filled the room and beyond.

Snake grabbed the fake Catwoman by the shirt and slammed her to the ground as hard as he could. Resulting in the surrounding debri being pushed back by the sheer amount of force he produced.

"If I'm not mistaken, this was supposed to be prom night, not a masquerade. So why don't we take off that mask?"

Before he could take the mask off, they were interrupted by the sound of the elevator bell going off. With Ruby running out and Cloud coming up via emergency stairs.

"Seriously, give me back my keys you brat!" Said the disgruntled blonde.

"No!" Those weapons are mine! All mine!" Ruby yelled while clumsily running on heels.

Fox looked in utter disbelief.

"You two picked the wrong time to ruin a perfect night out!" Said the annoyed Snake.

The Woman saw a chance of action and kicked Snake with a backwards summersault and landed back on her feet.

She leaped high into the air and readied more arrows to hunt down their prey.

Cloud eyes widened with Ruby stopped dead on her tracks.

"HIT THE DECK!" Snake yelled as twirled and did various flips to avoid even a single scratch. The other two hid straight behind desk.

The elevator bell rang once more, this time Ironwood showing up to crash the party.

"This is growing tiresome". The woman thought. She made for a quick retreat towards a shattered window.

"On no you don't!" Snake yelled as he fired rounds of 9mm bullets with his USP 45!

And just like that, she disappeared into the moonlight. Soaking in the darkness that is carrying her off to safety to sleep under the stars once more and fight for another day.

"My men are out cold, Beacon tower is breached, and I heard loud explosions coming from a mile away." Ironwood said in the most displeased tone. "What is going on here!?"

Snake pulled out a pack of cigs from his pouch and pulled one out to set it ablaze. He took a long hard drag before finally slowly releasing it. "Wouldn't you like to know?"


End file.
